At Your Service (2018 Rewrite)
by D0ubleFelix
Summary: To you, I swear an oath. Through fire and ice, thick and thin, heaven and hell, I will protect and serve you with my own life. I hereby swear my loyalty and devotion to you as your ever faithful General. No matter how much blood may spill, no matter how many bones I break, no matter how much my good name is sullied. I am forever at your service, my Commander, my everything.
1. A Terrible Day for Rain

**Hello, everyone! As you know, "At Your Service" was a story that was quite poorly done. It was filled with plot holes, abandoned elements, and unrealistic character development.**

 **I hope you guys find this rewrite better than the original. It isn't going to be that much of a romance story this time, but I promise I'll put somma that gay shit in there my dudes**

 **-Felix**

* * *

 **CHAPTER ONE:** A Terrible Day for Rain

Ness was thrown to his knees onto the cold ground by the soldier behind him. He drew in a sharp, pained breath through his teeth as a sharp pain shot up his legs. A familiar figure from his childhood stood before him. Ness shakily raised his head, wincing from the searing burn in his neck. A trail of blood ran from his mouth and stained his shirt. He managed to open his eyes enough to see the towering person above him, grinning a twisted grin. The slick blond hair and smug expression was something he could recognize anywhere.

"...Pokey? Is that y-"

" _Don't call me that!_ God, you think I liked being stuck with that name? Nowadays, I'm known as 'My Lord', got it?" The Lord commanded, advancing forward and aggressively grabbing a fistful of Ness' hair.

"Wait, what? Pokey, what do you...?!" He was interrupted by his own yelp, when The Lord yanked him forwards.

"My name is _what?_ " He demanded.

"M...My Lord..." Ness muttered, gritting his teeth to stop tears from coming. He hadn't seen this boy in nearly two years, not since he disappeared from Eagleland to pursue his own path. Ness knew he had formed a cult of some sort with the Happy Happy Village folk, but had no idea he had grown this powerful.

"Good _boy_ , Nesley!" The Lord taunted, releasing his grip, and letting Ness hit the floor, "I thought you'd put up more of a fight than this! You've got a bit soft, haven't you? Back when we were kids, you'd've kicked and screamed. Guess saving the world gave you a bit too much of an ego, didn't it?"

"Don't _test_ me, Blondie!" Ness challenged, trying to lunge forward. His wrists, however, were bound in chains. The Lord narrowed his eyes.

" _Theeere's_ that ferocity I remember. Perfect for what I have in store for you!"

"What, are you gonna kill me?"

"Oh, much, much worse. You see, Ness, you had the opportunity to have me by your side to stop Giygas. But you chose that loser scientist, that worthless prince, and that weak little girl? Not your friend of thirteen years? Pathetic. Then you rejected my invite into what would soon become the world's most powerful cult. You could have had it all, Ness. But now, I can give that to you. This army needs military ranks, you know. Every army does. There's a Captain, a Lieutenant, a Second in Command, and...a General." The Lord sneered, tossing a bundle of fabric at Ness, who realized it was a jacket.

"Wait, you want me to..." Ness gasped, "No! I'm this world's _saviour!_ I'd never join an army that killed and clawed it's way to the top! You _burned down_ Onett just to get to me! You imprisoned my family, I..."

"Oh, but this is for the good of your family, Ness. They're alive, you know. And if you accept this role and join my ranks as a fairly high state of authority, they'll stay that way." The Lord threatened in a honeyed voice. Ness' heart skipped a beat.

"You wouldn't."

"You know I would."

Ness stared down at the crumpled uniform before him. A typical navy blue colour, representing the authority. It seemed appealing at first, but he was only fifteen. He didn't know this army's goal, but it couldn't be good it they were willing to set a city ablaze without prompting.

"Tick tock, Ness. You're mother and sister's lives are on the line. You already lost your dad, wouldn't wanna lose them too, yeah? I have a recently developed flamethrower that I'd _love_ to test out."

Ness stared on, a troubled expression on his face.

"Well, fine. If you don't want to, then-"

"I'll do it."

The Lord, though surprised at first, cast a smug, pleased look at the noirette, who hung his head in defeat and shame.

"It's greater than you think, love. Trust me. You have the third highest level of authority, besides the Second in Command and me. You will refer to me as 'Sir', or 'My Lord', got it? Your job is to protect my Second in Command. You will refer to them as 'Your Highness'. Through heaven and hell, thick and thin, fire and ice, you will lay down your life to keep them alive. Got it?"

"That's not what a General does-"

"Does it really look like I care? Does it? I dunno what you learned in school, but this army is different. I run it my way."

"Yeah, okay."

"Sorry?" The Lord threatened, balling a fist.

"Yes _sir_." Ness reluctantly recited, bitterly.

"Wonderful! Your family will be spared, I promise." The Lord kneeled down to Ness' level and looked him in the eye with a malicious glint. He tossed a small object to the ground below him, which clattered on the floor. Ness looked, and saw it was a badge. In capital letters was the word "GENERAL" engraved in the metal. He finally let tears flow. A single drop fell on the tag.

"Welcome to the PigMasks." The Lord murmured.

"You're a _fucking_ monster." Ness growled, letting hatred seethe in his voice.

"Sorry to tell you, but you're one too, now."

As The Lord chuckled to himself, walking away, the chains restraining Ness loosened. He scrambled to his feet and massaged his wrists. Ness glared down at the blue uniform that had been dropped at his feet, and the badge that lay beside it. He picked up both items and examined them both, narrowing his eyes. How much blood would stain these clothes? How many lives would be lost from his gunshot? How much sweat would he shed? Would the rest of the little innocence he still had be lost? Hundreds of questions ran through his head.

He shrugged on the jacket and pinned the newly received tag just over his heart. A surge of authority washed over him, but nothing about it felt good. It had been his childhood dream to be part of the army, as it was with most school-aged boys. But now that he was actually doing it, with no idea how the future would turn out, Ness didn't know how to feel.

"For mom...for dad...and Tracy..." He whispered to himself. Maybe this army wasn't all that bad. Maybe their intentions were good. Maybe they were set on protecting the world and everyone in it, and him being the General would just make them stronger.

He hoped so.

Dear god, he hoped so.

* * *

"...Hah...!"

Ness shot up, eyes wide, breathing heavily.

"Whoa, you okay, Army Boy?"

He felt a hand on his shoulder; the hand of his Lieutenant General and dearest friend, Paula. Her empty but still sweet voice calmed him. He turned to her and was relieved to see her face. Through the years, her once beautiful and cheerful face had worn down to be pale and sickly, but Ness still found comfort from it.

The two were currently sitting on a sturdy branch on an oak tree outside the army's home base, watching the sun rise.

"I'm...fine. Thanks, Lieutenant." He muttered, rubbing his eyes.

"You don't have to call me that. Anyways, I haven't seen that in a while. You seemed... _scared_ , for a minute." Paula put her arm around him and rested her head on his shoulder. Ness sighed and furrowed his brow.

"It's strange to admit it...but...I was. I think..." He paused, and lowered his voice to a whisper, "...I think I had a dream."

Paula tensed, and went silent. She then relaxed and let out a bit of a nervous laugh.

"Uhh, Ness? You know that's...a little impossible?"

"I know, but...still. Maybe it was a flashback, I don't know. But I think I saw the day I joined this army."

Paula didn't say anything. An uncomfortable silence dragged on. She broke the silence by clearing her throat and sitting up straight.

"...That was a long time ago." She murmured quietly, almost in a whisper. She ran a hand through her blonde hair and sighed. "308 years, Ness. Why are you just now remembering this? I can't even remember when The Lord convinced me to join. All I know is that he used that damn charisma of his. He threatened to kill my family if I didn't." She pulled her legs over the branch and let them swing, as if she were still a child.

"Mine too. But..." Ness grit his teeth, "...They're gone, now. Mom and Tracy. God dammit, I should be gone too. I should've died years ago."

"You, me, every soldier between the numbers of 1 to 2000 should be dead. We can't do anything about it." Paula reminded, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"Well, we _are_ high up on a tree about 15 feet off the ground. There's one thing we can do about it." Ness said, half jokingly, half serious, staring at the ground below.

"Don't start with that. You know they'll just bring us back."

"...Unless," Ness predicted, rolling his eyes. He'd heard this spiel many times before.

" _Unless_ , we just...I don't know, escape?" Paula said.

"And leave Jeff here? You know that he-"

"I know about his leg...but Ness, come on. We'll get him a crutch or something...hell, we'll carry him! We need to get out of here, we..."

"Paula, it's a lost cause, alright? Everyone in the world knows our faces, who we are, and what we do. We take one step into the outside world, and all it takes is one report from a human to get us caught." Ness shot back, staring at her with bittersweet eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again and nodded hesitantly.

"Yah, I know." She admitted, "So, what do we do?"

Ness looked at the slowly rising sun. He squinted against it's rays peeking through the tips of the pine trees.

"I don't know." He emitted, "We stay here."

"I guess it's all we can do. But...no matter what, we're here together, right?" Paula grinned a bit, trying to stay on the bright side.

"...Yeah. Paula, listen, out of all the friends I had that could've been brutally forced into a bloodthirsty army built on world domination with me," He smiled back in reassurance, "I'm glad it was you. I wouldn't want anyone else as my Lieutenant General."

"I wouldn't want anyone else as my normal General." Paula said, lightly punching him in the shoulder.

As they sat in silence, the sun turned from a dark orange to a bright yellow as it rose over the horizon and a gentle breeze began to blow. Paula glanced over at her friend and observed him for a moment. He stared on, his face devoid of emotion. His jet black hair fluttered softly in the early morning wind, and the sunlight illuminated his violet eyes. She stayed like that, casually admiring him. Despite the bags under his eyes, almost grey skin, and somewhat skeletal facial structure due to lack of sleep and proper nutrition, he was still a handsome little boy.

"Hm?" Ness noticed her, "Something wrong?"

Paula jerked up and turned away, shifting uncomfortably, and sighed, "Listen..." She hesitated, "Ness, I-"

"My Generals, sir and madam!"

A voice from down below alerted the two. Ness peered over the tree branch and spotted a soldier standing straight up and heels together. He sighed, and stretched out his arms.

"Let's go." He murmured to Paula. He stood up and instantly leaped off of the branch and let himself fall for a moment, letting his genetically engineered wings spread at just the right moment to let him hover a bit just above the ground, before safely landing on his feet. The soldier lifted her arm in a sharp salute.

"My General! Permission to speak!" She asked.

"Granted." Ness passively told her. She relaxed her arm, and rested her hands respectfully behind her back.

"Orders from The Lord; he wishes for you to make your way to the laboratory. The new Second in Command is predicted to wake today." She reported. Ness' eyes darkened.

"I see." He murmured, "Right, then. At ease, dismissed."

The soldier nodded and walked away. At first, Ness didn't move. He stared at the ground, eyebrows knitted. Paula approached him after climbing down the tree and sympathetically took his hand in hers.

"I'm sure you'll do great with this one." She said softly. Ness bit his lip and didn't say anything. Paula walked in front of him and tried to look him in the eye, "Ness, come on. You couldn't keep her alive forever. I'm sure that this one will be just as great as she was."

"They'll never be like Commander N438, though. What kind of General am I if I can't protect the one person I'm responsible for protecting?" He spat.

"Hey. You kept her alive for over 300 years. That's incredible. And I can guarantee that you'll keep this one alive for even longer, okay?" She smiled at him reassuringly, "Now go meet them."

Ness, grateful for her comfort, gave a fake smile back, straightened his hat, and entered the headquarters. The cool air instantly hit him as he entered the building. The warm, calming, soft atmosphere from outside was replaced with a bustling, loud, colourless one. Once the busy crowd of soldiers noticed him as he walked along, they parted to allow him to pass through easily.

Within minutes, Ness stood in front of the laboratory entrance. He lifted his sleeve, exposing the bar code on the inside of his wrist and positioning it under a scanner built into the door. It beeped and clicked, allowing him to enter the room. He sent a nod of acknowledgement to the front desk operator and made his way down the main hallway, his combat boots clicking on the tiled floor.

"34...35...36...Here we go, 37." He silently counted under his breath as he passed numbered rooms. One more bar code scan, and he was in. He instantly spotted an old friend of his, who was sitting at a computer, typing away. The room was covered in clean, polished technology that Ness only knew how to use because of his programming.

"Jeff." Ness said. The blond scientist looked up, and his face instantly brightened.

"Nesley, hello!" He smiled as he got up from his chair and approached his friend with a slight limp. "Pleasure seeing you. I suppose you're here to supervise the programming of Commander C657. He's right there." Jeff gestured to the bed in the corner of the room where a body lay. Ness slowly walked over to observe them. It was a young boy this time, around 15 years old. He had messy red hair and pale skin covered with bandages soaked in blood. He flinched, noticing that the poor kid's arm was broken, torn, and mangled beyond recognition and usage. This was the work of a chimera attack.

"It'll have to be amputated." Jeff suddenly said, noticing Ness' disturbance. "C657 was found yesterday at the foot of a cliff; dead. After a thorough examination, I guessed that he got attacked by one of our chimeras, but fell over the edge. I put him under age enhancers and blockers. He's made the transition from ten years old to around your age."

"He does _not_ look three hundred and eight years old." Ness said with a smirk. Age enhancers were a drug developed by Jeff himself to age up whoever it was used on within hours. The blockers, however, would stop them from aging altogether. Ness had been placed on them the instant he joined the army, while Jeff was permanently stuck at 23 years old.

"Neither do you, genius. And I mean your biological age, you lot. Fifteen, maybe sixteen years old." Jeff said. He walked over to a nearby medical table, where an assortment of tools lay, organized neatly. He retrieved a syringe and walked to a table across the room which supported a shelf filled with test tubes, all labeled. Jeff scanned each label before finding one filled with an opaque red liquid. Ness recognized it immediately.

"Felidae?" Ness asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's what The Lord wants; a human-feline chimera. He wants the enhanced hearing and sight, as well as the incredible stamina, balance, all that. He also wants a little bit of bat in there, because he wants him to be able to use echolocation." Jeff, with careful inspection, inserted the needle into the crook of the young boy's arm and slowly injected the essence into his bloodstream. After a few moments, his body began to respond, and he began to twitch and spasm. He also made small choking sounds, which made Ness turned away, unsettled. He had watched this procedure many times before. The creation of chimeras was always unpleasant to watch.

Suddenly, the new Second in Command burst into a coughing fit and began to take deep breaths. Jeff smiled in success.

"Why...why can't I move...? Why does everything hurt?" The boy slurred. His words were barely recognizable and his eyes were only half opened. He made sudden eye contact with Ness, who froze. He'd felt this pang of sympathy before. He'd felt it for the last innocent human who was corrupted in front of him. It was just a little kid who was scared and confused. He reached forward and took his non mangled hand, trying to give as much comfort as he could.

"Don't worry, it'll be over soon. Give it a few minutes, and you'll be asleep again." Jeff calmly said. Of course, as promised, the boy's eyes closed eventually and he fell into sleep once more. However, Ness didn't let go of his hand. He couldn't find the motivation to. This boy would never return.

"Ness." Jeff murmured. "He's gone."

Moments later, the subject's eyes opened again. But they did not contain fear and confusion. They didn't contain anything. The boy was now simply a vessel waiting for its soul. Jeff gently guided him to sit up. The catatonic boy simply stared ahead as Jeff went to go fetch something else. Ness walked in front of him, and felt a chill go down his spine as he met the boy's eyes. Blank and lifeless. He leaned in close and whispered one thing to him;

" _I promise I'll protect you._ "

The boy blinked, as if he had heard him. Ness knew he hadn't, though.

"Alright, let's get you programmed..." Jeff said. He approached the boy and inspected a cotton ball that was taped to the back of his neck. He gently removed the medical tape holding it there and examined a clotted wound that had been purposely put there. Ness felt the base of his own neck. He had the same wound; a built-in USB port, which was used to 'program' the chimeras.

A small click told Ness that a chip had been inserted. He watched the boy's face, which remained blank, until a small flicker of something flashed in his eyes. A flicker of life.

"...Sir?" Jeff spoke.

"Nnh..." The boy suddenly came to life, slouching a bit and putting a hand to his face, rubbing his eyes. "...Yes?"

"Allow me to introduce myself, your highness. My name is Dr. Andonuts, I'm the head scientist here." Jeff introduced. The newly generated chimera turned to him and gave a nod of acknowledgement, before turning to Ness and observing him with narrowed eyes. His movements were precise and neat, as if he were a machine.

"And you. Judging by the stars on your uniform, it is safe for me to assume you are my General, yes?" He said.

"Correct. I swear my loyalty, your highness." Ness promised, bowing his head slightly in respect. Another nod from C657. The new Second in Command examined the room he was in for a moment, before catching sight of his mangled arm. He jumped ever so slightly, startled by his limb's appearance.

"Fear not, Your Highness! I was just about to start working on that." Jeff assured, turning to Ness, "...Due to risk of contamination, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave, Ne-" He paused, then corrected himself, " _...Sir._ "

"Fine," Ness replied, " _Doctor Andonuts._ "

Once out the door, he closed it slowly so it wouldn't make a noise, and fell back against the door, slowly falling to the floor. He was defeated. This was a _child_. His new Commander was a child, just like him. He didn't even want to think about what his life was like two or three days ago. Back when he had a family, and friends, and a home.

"That bad, huh?"

He looked up in response to the voice he instantly recognized; it was Paula. She held out her hand and helped him up with a grunt.

"You always know how to comfort someone, Lieutenant." He said sarcastically, giving her a smile. She saluted playfully and jerked her head to the side, motioning for him to follow.

"We gotta get your mind off'a things. Some good old fashion paperwork will put your mind in the right place." She reached into her pocket and pulled out an envelope between two fingers, handing it too him. Ness sighed and stuck it in his front pocket.

"The best way to start a morning." He jokingly replied.

* * *

By that afternoon, Commander C657 was awake and fully programmed. His torn arm was replaced with a brand new prosthetic model Ness didn't recognize; obviously something Jeff had just recently developed. It was crafted out of metal and moved almost as naturally as a biological arm and hand, and had the ability to connect to the body's nerves to allow him to actually touch and feel things. It was quite impressive, even for Jeff. But if there was anything the young scientist could prove, it was that he could always outdo himself. It seemed that just yesterday, he was apologizing profusely for accidentally blowing up a bottle rocket with a faulty design, forcing Ness to pay damages for any hotel wall that was destroyed. Practice certainly made perfect, it seemed.

Ness sat at the nearby desk as Jeff worked with the patient, completing the finishing touches. Having finished his previous work, he'd decided to once again supervise the progress Jeff was making.

"Alright, Young Master. I'm going to ask you to make a fist with your right hand." Jeff requested. Without even as much as a nod, The Second curled his fingers and clenched the prosthetic hand into a tight fist, the metal making a quiet clanking sound as it rubbed together. Jeff hovered his own hand over it, before eyeing the patient, "May I?"

A nod in response.

Jeff gently prodded the hand of The Second, inspecting each joint and curve for any malfunctions. His blue eyes expertly grazed over the steel surface, seeing things that Ness couldn't. With a deep exhale, Jeff once again leaned back and scribbled something on his clipboard. He brushed back his blond hair and looked up with a tired smile.

"Well, looks like your arm's all done." Jeff sighed, stretching his sore arms above his head.

"Finally. I have things to attend to." The Second murmured, beginning to hoist himself up on to his feet. However, he was stopped by Jeff's hand on his shoulder.

"As much as I'd love to agree, I unfortunately can't let you go just yet. You may be done, but your body is still too weak to support your own weight. Plus, using that arm of yours before letting it set will surely cause malfunctions. I'm going to have to ask you to get your rest, Your Highness." Jeff interrupted.

Jeff shivered when his new authority figure sharply turned to him, staring him down with those dead, empty eyes. Ness felt a chill go through his body. That one movement was so fluid, it was unsettling. He wondered how someone could have so many feelings of agitation in his face, all the while still being completely emotionless. Ness felt his hand just barely twitch; the beginning of an instinctual movement of reaching for his side holster, which contained a loaded hand gun; a gesture now in his muscle memory which happened whenever he felt even slightly threatened.

The room stayed in the tableaux for multiple seconds, each moment growing in tension. It was only broken by the sigh which came from The Second. The hostility in his eyes died.

"Understood." Was all he said, shifting his weight back onto the bed.

Jeff continued to smile, despite the obvious terror in his eyes. He shakily stood up.

"Ah, thank you," He replied, "I'll be back in a few minutes, sir. I have some medication I need to retrieve from another room. Please excuse me." Jeff sent a quick glance at Ness. The two shared an entire conversation in that one look; Jeff was obviously off to go gather his wits. Both of them now had an idea of what was to come when things didn't particularly go this Second's way.

When Jeff left the room, Ness felt an overwhelming sense of dread and uneasiness. He awkwardly glanced around the room, pretending to be observing the familiar office. In reality, he was doing his absolute best to avoid those eyes. His efforts would, of course, prove to be not enough, and he finally gave into the temptation to shift his gaze to the chimera across from him.

Once they made eye contact, Ness tensed. He got the same feeling one would get after being startled in a dark, frightening place. The soulless eyes of the Second were deep red in hue, as was the case with most chimera patients. The dark red contrasted against the sclera, sending a haunting, uncanny look back at Ness. The Second sat completely still, not a single muscle moving. There was nothing but silence and the buzzing of the lights above. Ness couldn't take it anymore; he had to feel safe.

"So," He began, instantly feeling better upon hearing his own voice, "I look forward to working with you."

No response. A malfunction, maybe? Perhaps he took a while to process things. A few more seconds went by with no words being said. Ness glanced down and fidgeted with his hands. He clicked his tongue a few times. Anything to fill the silence. He tried again.

"You wanna...tell me about yourself?" Ness asked. A few seconds. Ness nearly jumped when the patient in front of him shifted.

"There's nothing to tell." The Second replied in his monotone voice. "I am a mechanically created chimera. My only purpose is to serve our Lord."

"Well, yeah, but...you know, everyone's got _some_ qualities. Like...take me, for example. I like...uh..." Ness thought for a moment. He realized that he didn't really have anything he particularly enjoyed. Ness had never quite thought about the fact that he was, without sugarcoating it, pretty boring. This was harder than he thought. "You know what? Never mind. You're good." He confirmed.

The rest of the day went by in a blur. By the time night fell, Ness was already in his resident unit; a room which he shared with Paula. The Lieutenant General was already in the dorm when Ness arrived. When he entered, Paula was facing away from him, hanging up her uniform jacket. She turned, and gave him a tired smile.

"How was he?" She asked.

Ness sighed as he walk to the corner of the carpeted room and sat down on the cot he slept in.

"Scary." He responded, as he took on his hat and brushed back his matted hair. He quickly undressed, completing the action in the memorized order he'd been doing for years. Boots were put at the end of the cot. Jacket was hung up, pants and undershirt were folded and placed to the side. Paula turned off the light, and the room was lit by a bedside lamp. The two climbed into their respective cots, which were beside each other. Ness turned over onto his stomach and rested his chin on his hands, glancing back at Paula, who was in the same position.

"He just...looked so _dead_." Ness murmured after a few moments of silence. Paula smiled, sympathetically.

"How old is he again? Fifteen?" She asked.

"Our age. sixteen." Ness replied.

"He's cute." Paula smirked, trying to lighten up the mood. Ness perked up, scoffing.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not wrong. He's very pretty."

Ness thought for a moment, shrugging a bit.

"Eh, he's alright." He admitted. It was only a matter of time before that face of his would slowly wither away. In no more than a few months, his soft, suntanned skin would turn rough and sickly gray. His eyes would soon be dressed with dark bags. The bones in his face would soon be much more visible than before. Ness rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. He struggled to remember his own appearance back when he was a human boy. He struggled to remember Paula's and Jeff's. He could not. Even the face of his mysterious friend, Pu, who had managed to escape the army centuries ago, had left his mind.

It had simply been a very emotional day for Ness. He had to admit; he slightly enjoyed the feeling of sadness and pity he had for his new Commander. At least he was feeling _something_. The occasion where he would feel anything other than emptiness was a rare one.

He gently lifted his wrist to a nearby scanner on the wall. With the sound of a beep came a small, pocket-sized contraption from the side. It was a machine Jeff had built in order to preserve chimeras as they slept, for their weak, altered bodies could not function properly in a sleep state. Ness grabbed a wire protruding from the box-like invention and felt around at the base of his neck for the USB port. When he finally found it, he clicked the wire in place. Instantly, he felt his heartbeat slow down to a steady, rhythmic pace. His mind became less jumbled, and his breathing was smooth and controlled.

Before Ness felt himself automatically drift into sleep, he thought back to earlier that day. He regretted his words he'd said to The Second; there was one thing he enjoyed. It was this.

The brief period of time where it was just him and Paula, alone with their thoughts, before each of them would feel that euphoric moment of peace before they were mechanically programmed into unconsciousness. That last few seconds of not pain, not happiness, not even emptiness.

Just peace.

* * *

When Ness woke again, he noticed something was very, very wrong.

On a usual morning at four O'clock, he'd wake up with a migraine and a sore throat. He'd groggily sit up, feeling every distorted bone in his body crack and shift, and not in a pleasant way. He'd unplug himself from his charger, stand up, and routinely put on his uniform, now ready for the long day ahead.

However, now, there was none of that.

Ness' eyes fluttered open. Above him, he saw darkness. This was normal, as the light probably hadn't been turned on yet. His head felt fine, and his throat felt clear. As he sat up, there was a beautiful silence. Rather than feeling everything shuffle around, every joint smoothly moved the way it should've. This was a sense of ecstasy that Ness hadn't felt in ages; a clear mind and body. He looked around, not feeling the need to wipe any sleep from his eyes, as he felt well rested.

He glanced to his left, then his right. Still darkness.

Ness realized that there was nothing _but_ darkness. His moment of tranquility was interrupted by his own paranoid thoughts.

" _Where am I?_ " He thought, getting to his feet. Underneath his bare soles, the ground felt odd. Not fuzzy, like a carpet, but not hard either. It felt like how a cloud looked. The world around him was nothing but an continuous shade of black, unmoving and never ending. Moving his hand through the air was like pushing through water; not difficult, but not without some level of force.

"Hello?" He finally gained the courage to speak. His voice made no echo, no reverb. It was as if the sound traveled nowhere. He took a step forward, once again shivering at the touch of the peculiar feeling floor. Ness took a few more steps. His feet made no noise. He was beginning to panic, he needed light. He held out his hand in front of him, "PK Fire," He muttered.

Nothing. Not even a spark.

" _You can't use PSI in a dream, love._ "

Ness jumped. The voice he heard was a female. He couldn't tell if it had come from behind or in front of him. It panned from all directions. No one was in sight.

"There has to be a mistake..." Ness called, "I'm a chimera. I can't have dreams."

A single flash alerted him from the side. From far away, he saw a flicker of light and movement. A soft glow began to radiate, and illuminate...something. As Ness approached it, he saw that it was a person. He couldn't make out the face or the figure, but he knew it was human. A spirit, maybe? As he walked closer, he could begin to see little details. It was definitely a female. She was tall and slender, with a curved face and long, soft hair that floated as if she were underwater. Her body glowed with a golden light, which normally would've been too bright for Ness to handle. But oddly, it didn't affect him. He stopped and stared at the woman, mouth agape in awe and eyes wide. She smiled at him with a sweet curve of the lip.

"You're beautiful." Ness murmured, unaware of what he was saying.

"Thank you." Said the apparition. She walked; or rather, _floated_ to Ness. As she came closer, Ness could feel warmth engulf him. The woman raised a poised hand and gently rested it on the side of Ness' face. It felt like nothing. He couldn't feel the touch upon his face, but he could feel the overwhelming sense of care. "What a handsome young boy." She cooed. Her voice sounded like the wind, panning from right to left.

"Huh?" Wondered Ness, "I-I'm not very handsome at all."

"Nonsense. You're beautiful as well."

With her words, Ness believed her. He felt a surge of confidence.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"I am a soul who was taken from this Earth far too early." Responded the spirit, a look of grief crossing her face. Ness could feel her grief. Empathy washed over him.

"M-me too." He expressed. The woman nodded.

"Both of us had our lives stolen, each in different ways." She agreed. Ness nodded.

"Where am I?" He asked. The ghost looked around, observing the area.

"A place that was once yours. A place inside your mind. Do you not remember?" She asked, gesturing around them. Ness looked around, taking in everything, but once again, he was confused and lost. He shook his head.

"I've never seen this place before." He murmured.

"Surely, you must," The ghost insisted, with a slight look of disappointment, "Many years ago, you collected eight separate melodies to form a song. Only then were you able to access this place. A place of your memories. A place that once, only you could come to."

A slight itch of familiarity pulled at Ness; the melodies. He remembered those. But he didn't remember how they went.

"That was over three hundred years ago," He said, "I've long since forgotten about that."

"I see..." The spirit whispered, "Aye...I did not expect this."

To Ness' shock, she turned around and began to float away, her bare feet just barely touching the ground from under her dress. As she went, she muttered to herself; something Ness couldn't quite hear. He took a step forwards.

"Wait..." He breathed, "...Wait! Wait a minute, where're you...?!" He began to run, but even though it seemed like the woman wasn't going far, he never caught up to her. Ness broke out into a sprint in a desperate attempt to cling to her light, which was slowly fading away. "Please, what is this place?! Just gimme a hint...a clue, or something! Then I'll remember!" He pleaded, thrusting out his hand.

He stopped upon noticing it. Ness' attention was suddenly torn from the woman as he focused on his hand.

It was normal.

The tips of his fingers were no longer callused, and lacking of fingerprints. They were soft. The skin on his hand was a familiar shade of tan, no longer the pale shade he was used to. His fingers, when bent, made no cracking noise like they usually did. Ness suddenly realized that these were his old hands. The ones he had when he was _really_ sixteen, almost three centuries ago. He looked down, and saw that his feet were the same. He hadn't realized, but he was also clothed in unfamiliar nightclothes; he only slept in boxers and a tank top. These were white nightclothes with blue pinstripes, buttoned down the middle. Nostalgia hit him like a wave. These were his. He had worn these years ago.

Ness began to realize that he was in the body of his old self, back in...what year was it? Nineteen ninety something. He ran his hands through his hair, which was soft and thick. His face felt smooth, and it felt full. He wanted to cry, but of course, he didn't. He couldn't. He hadn't been able to for ages. That being said, he couldn't feel anything, but for the first time, he felt like he could.

A spectacle it was, being in a body so foreign, but so familiar.

* * *

"Ness!"

A voice jolted Ness from his sleep. He flinched, feeling the familiar crackling in his body and the scratch in his throat. He looked around, and realized that he was back in the real world. The cold, colourless one. He turned to face Paula, who leaned over him with a slightly panicked look on her face.

"What...what is it?" Ness yawned, still in shock of the odd dream. He sat up and turned to the wall clock, which read 2:36 AM. "It's not even close to four yet, Paula."

"I-I know..." Paula murmured, embarrassed, "...But you were acting _weird_ , Ness. I knew you were a sleep talker, but... _damn_. You were _screaming._ "

"I was?"

"Oh yeah. Like, full on bloody murder. I figured I outta wake you up before you had an accident or something." Paula said, sitting back on her own bed. Ness glared at her. She shrugged unapologetically, smirking.

Ness put a hand to his head, wincing at the sharp aching. He barely remembered the dream he'd just had. There was darkness, and...a woman, and...

"Paula, um..."

"You had another one, yeah? Another dream?"

Ness, unsure of how to answer, only nodded. Paula looked at the floor with a mixed expression of worry and interest. Both wanted to discuss it, but neither said anything. Paula only sighed and flopped back onto her bed, turning the other way. Ness bit his lip and did the same. Might as well catch a few winks before he had to get up.

However, he did not sleep. Minutes went by, spent by him staring at the wall. He noticed that the device used to put him to sleep had been unplugged; probably Paula's doing. He did not put it back; he couldn't find the strength to. He was just too confused. Somehow, in the back of his mind, he knew Paula was awake too.

"Lieutenant." He murmured, rolling over to face her.

"Hm?" She hummed back, still facing the other direction.

"Do you, um..." He paused, "Do you remember the melodies?"

A long silence. Paula let out a quiet gasp, shocked at what he'd asked her. Slowly, she rolled on to her side to face him again.

"Just barely," She replied, "Where'd that come from, Ness?"

"I dunno, it just...popped up in my head, that's all. Just wondering."

"You're remembering a lot of things, Ness. Just make sure the Lord doesn't find out, 'kay? You're lucky he left you the way you are now. You could've turned out like-" Paula stopped herself. Ness knew what she was going to say. He sighed, and looked up at the ceiling. He rubbed his hands together; they had their familiar rough feel. He frowned, wishing he could go back to that dream just one last time. He still couldn't remember what had happened, but he was anxious to find out. Tentatively, he reached up and grabbed the stray wire, and guided it to the port at his neck. Upon clicking it into place once again, he quickly powered down, all the while hoping he'd return to that strange, wonderful place.

He didn't, and before he knew it, he'd been automatically woken up at four O'clock sharp.

* * *

The previous Commander was a strict woman; she never took nonsense and despised disorganization. Many people were terrified of her, except for Ness. He'd shared a bond with her that no one else did. He knew things about her that no one else did. He'd seen sides of her that no one else had. She had a hidden playful personality that gave her a sense of humanity. Despite being sharp and snappy, Commander N438 was a surprisingly friendly person. Jeff had been told that he hadn't done good enough, and was forced to swear that he'd make the next one stricter, stronger, and less capable of feelings.

And dear god, did he do a good job with this one.

This Second in Command had one, and only one, personality trait: Asshole.

Within the first day of him being up and about, he'd already proved to be nothing short of a perfectionist. Everything and anything done around him had to be done just right, down to the very last detail. If one thing was out of line, one would be forced to redo it under his supervision. Every order given was said in a projected but droning voice. For a while, Ness had been wondering if he was as strong as Jeff was supposed to make him. That question had been answered when a soldier had accidentally bumped into him, and said soldier was placed in the hospital minutes later with three broken ribs, a snapped arm, and a concussion. After that, even the sound of his combat boots making clicking sounds on the tile floor was enough to frighten everyone in the area. With his black uniform, narrowed eyes and dark mechanical wings, he was, as Paula described, "Fuckin' scary, man."

And almost immediately, Ness didn't like him.

His overly perfect movements and entitled personality weren't exactly desirable. He hadn't actually _done_ anything to Ness, he actually seemed to tolerate him. He'd been trying all day to introduce himself further, but the most the Second ever said to him were one word orders. Ness, needless to say, was irritated.

After an entire day of trying to track him down, Ness finally found the Second in an isolated conference room, which was closed off by sheets of glass, lights turned off and a single projector in the middle of the room, displaying a digital map of a land Ness didn't recognize. He examined the picture lit up on the wall, pinning multiple coloured sticky notes to different locations, in a code only he could understand. Ness put a hand on the wall and observed from behind it. As usual, he moved with precision. Even the way he stuck a note to the wall was perfect. Ness frowned.

" _Geez_ _..._ " He thought, continuing to observe him. As the seconds passed, silence only grew. He fell into a trance, watching the treadmill movements.

"General."

Ness stifled a yelp of surprise, having been startled by the sudden calling on his name. He realized it came from the Commander, who had somehow detected he was there without even turning around. He straightened his collar, took a deep breath, and approached the entrance.

"Sir?" He replied, trying not to sound nervous. He stuffed his hands casually into his pockets.

"It appears to me that we have not formally met." The Second brought up, still not turning around. Ness cleared his throat.

"It would seem so." He said.

"Fix that voice of yours, for Chist's sake. You sound like a frightened child." The Commander turned around, and observed Ness up and down, "And take your hands out of your pockets. You're supposed to be authority, right?" He added, sharply. Ness scrambled to put his arms at his sides.

"Of course." He responded, adding a slight hint of attitude to his voice. He was not going to show that he was intimidated.

"Act like it, then." The Second shot right back, with even more of said attitude. That had been the most emotion he'd shown in the few hours Ness had known him. To avoid confrontation, Ness said nothing. He had to make _somewhat_ of a good first impression. Upon noticing that the Second had returned to his work, Ness walked to his side and inspected the unfamiliar map.

"Where is this?" He asked.

"Where we are right now; the Nowhere Islands."

"Ah, I see." Ness understood now. The islands were an odd place. They floated many miles above Earth, and was the current location of the army's home base. He knew that this was where he was, but he mainly performed his duties back on Earth. "Would you mind discussing your plans?"

The Commander gave a sigh, as if he was irritated, but replied, "A larger village, 'Tazmily' is under watch right now. The Lord wants it taken over, but it won't be that simple. The village is tucked away in a forest, so they'd easily hear us coming from miles away if we just invaded."

Ness nodded; he knew about the situation, "We actually invaded that village a few days ago; one of our soldiers started a fire. Blew our _entire_ cover."

"Yes, I've heard of that. I'm trying to find a possible way to invade without causing them to evacuate or panic. We can't use our air troops, those make too much noise as well. I was thinking, perhaps we could send in undercover soldiers disguised as villagers." The Commander suggested. He had his finger rested on a specific part of the map marked with a red dot; Tazmily. Ness thought to himself, years of experience running through his head.

The purpose of invading villages in the first place was to transport their residents to a city that the Lord had created, in order to make a world that he himself could rule. He thought about some previous tactics they had used.

"Did the Lord say anything about a time limit? Does he want it taken over right away?" He asked.

"No. He doesn't care how long it takes, he just wants it done."

"Well, then I have an idea that worked on a few other villages. It'll take quite a while, though."

"How long?"

"Try about _three years._ "

"...Explain."

"Yes, sir. See," Ness used the map to explain his plan, "What we do is go with your plan of sending in undercover soldiers. What they do is begin to introduce our technology. Lots of villages on the Islands don't use currency, so that's one thing we can introduce. Happy boxes will be important. Over time, we introduce more and more soldiers and more and more technology." He explained, "The happy boxes will use our propaganda to...brainwash them, in a way. As they become more comfortable with us, the more they trust us, and the more we can infiltrate them. Then, once we get an airship here, we convince them to get on, we take them to the city, done. No fuss, no scenes. Worked perfectly with the last village." He finished.

The Second thought to himself for a moment, before nodding a bit.

"That does seem sensible...we _do_ want them to be on our side." He agreed. "Very well, let's begin. Get five of your men and give them the task of entering the village under false identities. Inform them not to come on strong."

Ness nodded, gave him a salute, and exited. Once he turned a corner and was out of view of anyone, he let out a sigh of relief and collapsed against the wall, struggling to keep himself up.

" _Jesus and his mother Mary..._ " He thought to himself. Just _talking_ to the guy was threatening. He looked around and searched for an intercom. Thankfully, he saw one a few feet away. With a scan of his barcode, a loud beep echoed through the hallways, and Ness pressed the broadcast button.

"All soldiers between the numbers of 500 and 505, report to the main hall immediately for and urgent mission." He ordered in a clear voice, which he struggled to keep calm.

By the time he'd reached the vestibule of the home base, the five soldiers he'd called were already standing there, at attention. When they noticed him approaching, they each stood up as straight as possible, obviously proud they had been selected, and obviously trying to impress him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we've decided it's time we make our next move." He announced, as he stood in front of them, arms placed behind his back, "Just north of us is a village called "Tazmily", I'm sure you've heard of it after the...unfortunate incident involving Number 3018 and 3029." He recalled, remembering the sight of the two soldiers falling to their knees and begging for him to forgive them after starting a severe forest fire.

The group of soldiers all nodded slightly.

"We mustn't waste any time. Your job will be to enter the village and pose as citizens of the Lord's city. Be friendly, and play nice. Be subtle. You will be spending the next little while in Tazmily, introducing our ideas and concepts. After the first few months, we'll do the rest." Ness finished. "Questions?"

Silence.

"Good. Off with you! Go dirty yourselves up, pretend you're hurt; those Tazmilians can't help but assist someone who's been through trouble. Wear human clothes. I don't care what, just look like you aren't a soldier. Dismissed."

With his last word, the group of soldiers simultaneously saluted and ran off, excitedly chatting with each other about their fascinating new mission. Ness watched them go, feeling a rush go through his body. As miserable as this army made him, giving orders and having everyone do exactly as he said was...pretty enjoyable.

The rest of the day went by surprisingly quickly. By that afternoon, the five soldiers were off, and had begun their trek to Tazmily. It would be a few days before they reached their destination.

As Ness sat in a private office with a desk in the corner, he stared down at the mission plans, fingers on his temples. He could see through the small porthole window that the sun was setting. He let out a long, drawn out breath and laid his head on the desk. His mind had been so jumbled up with so many new things, he'd barely had any time to just be with himself that day. At least now, it was quiet for a while, so he had time to sit, alone, and have an hour or two of him time.

' _Commander C657 and General N82, please report to the top floor office_.'

Ness let out a very audible groan, and slowly lifted his head off the table.

"Five minutes. Five insignificant minutes is all I need..." He muttered as he got to his feet and exited the office, making sure the door was locked behind him. He forced himself to stand up straight as he walked. As usual, the soldiers going about their business parted to let him pass. He made his way down the main hallway and took a left turn at a branch, which led to an elevator. Upon entering it, he selected the top floor, and patiently waited as the unit made it's way up. Once it made a 'ding' sound to alert him it had arrived, he gathered his wits before stepping out of the open doors.

If the other floors of the home base were cold and colourless, this floor was _worse_. A large corridor with a high ceiling and tall windows lay before him. He nervously walked through the wide hallway and closed in on a large wall at the end, with a single door in the middle. He eventually approached the door, gingerly placing his hand on the handle. He hesitated, before taking a deep breath and pushing on through.

"Master, you called for me?" He mumbled upon entering.

" _Yes. Right on time, as usual._ "

Ness walked into a large, barely lit room. A single mahogany desk sat in the middle, with a dark figure looming over it. In front of the desk, already there, was the Commander. The figure looked up to acknowledge Ness, who couldn't see their face due to the large black hood they wore in order to protect them from sunlight. There was a reason the room was so dark.

This was the Lord.

" _You two have met, yes?_ " He asked, his tone shaky and raspy with age. Both of the officials nodded. " _Good, good. Look at him, General. What a gorgeous creation of science. My own little monster. A truly lovely sight to see. Wouldn't you agree?_ "

Ness begrudgingly answered, "Y-yes, my Lord."

The Commander said nothing.

" _Show me...show me your arm again, Young Prince._ " The Lord said.

Without a second thought, the Commander lifted the sleeve of his right arm and exposed it's metal surface, which gleamed from the faint light of the window and the multiple candles lit around the room. The Lord shivered.

" _Oooooh, yes. Beautiful._ " He said, " _How lucky am I, to have two stunning boys such as yourselves? Hmm? How lucky, General?_ " His voice was so honeyed, Ness could swear he could taste it.

Ness, feeling nauseous, replied, "...Quite lucky."

" _Yes, I would agree..._ " The Lord nodded. He laughed, an odd, cheerful giggle, almost. " _Two wonderful little freaks of nature to play with._ " He said. He continued, " _You must be confused as to why I called you here._ "

Neither chimera spoke.

" _Well, I'll tell you. You may be familiar with a legend; the legend of the dark dragon and the seven needles suspending it in the Nowhere Island's core._ " The Lord began. " _Ah, yes, you know what I'm talking about, General._ " He grinned, noticing Ness' shocked look.

"Y-yes, erm...with all due respect, sir, the needles are not something to be tampered with. I understand you have a plan formulating, but...but..."

" _Are you trying to give me orders?_ "

"No, sir. Proceed." Ness shut up after that.

" _I've decided that in order to truly reach our full extent of power, we need to take action. For my next plan,_ " The Lord paused, " _We will be the ones to pull the needles and summon the dark dragon from it's resting place. We will then order them to make us the most powerful beings on this planet. And with that, we'll be unstoppable."_

Ness swallowed. He searched for any reason to contradict the plan. Finally, he found something useful.

"A-ah! But sir, we can't! Remember, Fassad said that the needles can only be pulled by someone who has mastered PK Love. None of us can, not even me." Ness said confidently.

PSI was an important part of Ness; a type of Psionic abilities that rested in the mind, which he was very, very good at. The world had a known list of the top twenty most powerful psychics of all time; he'd kept the number three spot for ages. But even he couldn't seem to master the rarest move of all; the beautiful, but dangerous PK Love. A move that used energy purely from the heart of a psychic, which is what made it so powerful.

The Lord smiled and clicked his teeth. " _Oh, Ness. How foolish of me; there's one thing I haven't shown you, yet. See, your little friend, Dr Andonuts, worked to the bone to perfect our new addition. Hundreds upon hundreds of sleepless nights. And thanks to that, C657 can do this. Show him._ " He said, glaring at the Commander, who nodded and stepped back a few feet, holding out his right hand.

Ness' heartbeat quickened. Was he...? Was this real? Was he about the witness what he thought he was?

The thoughts came true as the Commander muttered a small incantation.

" _PK Love._ "

After a moment, wisps of pink mist began to curl around his gloved fingers, waving into the air and increasing in brilliance. Ness felt his heart skip upon witnessing the display, his jaw dropping. The clouds eventually formed into flames, which twirled and flickered as if in slow motion. Particles of magical debris scattered from the Commander's palm. He closed his hand into a fist, dousing the light. He looked up at Ness, who stared back at him with disbelief.

"Incredible..." He breathed. Despite his skill in PSI, Ness had never seen a PK Love enchantment performed with such control and such ease. The spell usually took a large physical toll on the user, but the Commander didn't even seem phased. He hadn't even broken a sweat.

" _It_ is _incredible, isn't it? Now, that's all out of the way. We have someone capable of using PK Love, meaning we can pull the needles. All that needs to be done now is locating them. And that rests in your hands. I'm counting on the both of you. First we will locate all seven, then we will pull each one by one. Understood?_ "

"Understood." Said both authorities, Ness lagging behind a bit due to his concern. They raised their hands into a salute.

The Lord smirked and intertwined his fingers, hunching his shoulders.

" _Good boys. Off you go._ "

And with that, the two of them turned and walked away. As Ness made his way out of the gloomy room, a million thoughts on how much of a bad idea this was raced through his mind.

Ness had never touched excitement for the last many decades. But now, with the arrival of a new Commander and now _this_ , he knew that the next few years were going to be a slap in the face for him. He wanted nothing more than to get out of his uniform, lay down, talk to Paula for a little while, and then sleep.

" _I don't get paid enough for this crap..._ " He mentally groaned.

Funny. He didn't get paid at all.


	2. Dogfight

"Number?"

"500."

"Status?"

"Deceased."

Ness scribbled something down on a sheet of paper as another soldier sat across from him.

"Number?" He said again.

"501." Answered the soldier.

"Status?" Ness asked, already knowing the answer.

"Deceased."

Ness reluctantly jotted down the information. He went quiet, simply staring down at his clipboard. With the five soldiers' pictures on them. The soldier across from him tilted her head, concerned. She leaned over the table.

"Sir...?" She murmured. Ness didn't reply.

"...Are all of them dead, #3067?" He asked reluctantly. The soldier, caught off guard by this, drew in her lower lip.

"...Yes, sir." She replied, her voice quiet.

Ness' brow furrowed, and he let out a long, stressed sigh. He put the clipboard on the table between them and put a hand to his temple. Not even a few days after he'd sent out the group of soldiers on their mission, there had already been a mission abort. An unknown attack had preyed on the group. He hoped that at least one would survive, so that he'd have an idea of what happened and what the next wave would need to watch out for. But no one did.

Suddenly, someone burst into the meeting room; it was Paula.

" _General!_ " She cried, "Thank god, you gotta come look at this. They've got the bodies of your soldiers. They're...they're _bad._ "

She motioned for him to follow her. Ness glanced at the soldier sitting across from him and dismissed her, before quickly standing up to follow the Lieutenant. He sprinted in order to keep up with her, nearly tripping at the sharp corners. He made sure to focus on her white uniform to make sure he didn't lose her. As he'd guessed, she led him to the hospital ward, and with a quick wrist scan, they entered a closed off room.

As Ness put a hand against a wall to steady himself and catch his breath, Paula gestured to four operation tables all lined up, with four vague outlines of human bodies showing up from under white sheets, all of which were stained with blood. He looked at her, uncertain, and she nodded. He took a deep breath and stood up straight, and slowly walked to the first table. He grit his teeth, took the corner of the sheet, and pulled it back.

Seeing a dead body for the first time had shaken Ness, but through his life, he'd see many more, and had grown used to the sight.

Still, he shivered at the damage done.

The soldier, #500, barely even looked human. The skin from the left side of her face had been completely torn away, leaving most of her hair missing. The rest of her body had gotten the same treatment; a mess of shredded flesh and cracked, protruding bone, caked with dirt and dried blood. Her eyes, which were miraculously still there, blankly stared up at the ceiling. Upon inspecting the other victims, they pretty much looked the same. Ness noticed something wrong.

"There's only four here. I sent out five." He said, "Where's 504?"

"Well, what's left of her _hand_ is in _there._ " Paula said, pointing to a white preservation cooler set on a shelf nearby. Ness' heart skipped. He once again faced the bodies and silently took a few seconds to thank them for their service. Paula watched from aside. She knew that right now, Ness was blaming himself. He always blamed himself when a mission went wrong.

"And no one saw what happened?" Asked Ness.

"No one." Confirmed Paula, shaking her head.

"...That can't be good, because..." Ness paused, observing the bodies once more, "...This is the weirdest thing I've ever seen."

"Huh?" Paula took a step towards him, "Ness, we see stuff like this all the time. How is this one weird?"

"Well, look! Haven't you noticed that they're covered, head to toe, in claw marks? And not just any marks; drago claw marks." Explained Ness, pointing out the various gashes. Paula realized that the marks were three parallel scratches; definitely a drago.

"Those are really jagged, though. Our dragos make clean cuts." She pointed out.

"Which is why it's obvious they were killed by a natural one, not a chimera."

Paula looked at him, bewildered. "Ness, dragos are gentle. They aren't aggressive animals in the slightest, why would they...?" She trailed off.

"By nature, yes, they are calm animals. However, they can also be trained." Said Ness, "And they can be trained to do anything. These claw marks are definitely drago marks; and someone told them to do it."

"Jesus..." Muttered Paula, "Wonder what else Tazmily's got up their sleeve?"

"We'll get 'em. I'm gonna wait a while before sending another wave of soldiers."

"Good plan."

Upon leaving the hospital ward to allow the doctors to perform an autopsy, Paula and Ness walked side by side as they traversed through the home base. Paula, who was usually constantly talking, was oddly quiet. Ness knew what she was about to say. Of course, after five minutes of wandering, she did.

"It wasn't your fault, Ness." She murmured.

"This _again_ , Paula?" Snapped Ness. He regretted raising his voice and softened his tone, "Listen, I know you're trying to help, but at the end of the day, _I'm_ the one who sent them on that mission."

"It could've happened to any one of us! If I sent them on that mission, would it be _my_ fault?"

"Oh, come on, don't do that..."

"You're only saying that because I'm proving you wrong! Stop blaming yourself for things! It's bad enough you blame yourself for-"

Ness began to say something back, but a loud beep sounded over the intercom.

' _Attention_ : _All soldiers are required to enter the assembly room to discuss the new project being set forth._ '

As soldiers began to rush to the hall, Ness put his face in his hands.

" _Aaaaaugh_ , that's right! The presentation is today, I haven't written anything..." He fretted.

"Ness, chill, you never write anything. Just wing it like you always do. C'mon." Paula tapped him on the shoulder and began to run.

Ness followed close behind, until the two of them reached the large assembly hall where the entire population of soldiers gathered before a raised stage. The two entered the stage and went to their respective places; Ness just by the middle, and Paula opposite of him. Between the two was The Commander. Ness swallowed nervously upon standing next to him, hands placed behind his back. He made sure to keep his back extra straight.

The Commander suddenly raised a hand, and the loud chatter in the room ceased almost instantly. He cleared his throat, and began.

"You've been called here today to review the plans of a new project our Lord has decided to put into action," He said, projecting his voice, "We are taking a big step. On a smaller note, our second attempt at invading Tazmily was once again a failure. Our General is working on another plan, I'm sure." He sent a short but effective glare at Ness, who hastily nodded and stepped forward.

"I've discovered that Tazmily has begun to use domesticated dragos to their advantage, meaning we need to invade even more low profile. We need to be subtle. The fallen soldiers made the mistake of wearing their uniforms on their journey, which most likely set off the drago's alarm. The next wave of soldiers will be sent with disguises." Explained Ness.

"And so, that's that." Continued The Second, "Now, on to our main point. We've called you here because we'd like to discuss the event you've probably been waiting for; the pulling of the seven needles and releasing the Dark Dragon."

With his announcement, a chorus of shocked gasps and whispers rippled through the crowd. Ness got that weird feeling again just by hearing that. The feeling that something was definitely going to go wrong with this plan.

"Here is how it will commence," The Second took a step forward, "It will be my job, accompanied by ten other soldiers, to locate the needles one by one. We will _not_ pull them until each one is found. Realize that a vast majority of these islands are undiscovered, so I will be taking the highest ranking soldier in each training group in case of danger. On the day we begin, this is what will happen..."

As the hours dragged on, Ness found himself drifting in and out of reality. He often zoned out when stuck doing nothing for long periods of time. The calming, monotone voice of The Commander was a droning sound going on in the back of his mind, slowly making him feel more and more tired. He wondered how this guy was able to talk that much and not have a sore throat. Then again, maybe he did, and he just didn't care. He sounded like he didn't really care about anything.

Eventually, Ness snapped to attention when he realized that the hall was beginning to clear. The presentation had ended, and he hadn't picked up a single word. He blinked out of his daze and caught the eye of Paula, who clearly knew that he was completely clueless as to what was discussed. She brushed off her shoulder a few times; part of a secret code of body language they had developed, to tell him that she would explain everything to him later. Both of them noticed The Commander nearby, putting together a stack of paper and preparing to leave, just as smoothly and controlled as always. Paula looked back towards Ness and jerked her head towards their superior. Ness mouthed a 'what?' to her, unsure of what she was asking of him. Eventually, he realized that she was insisting he go and talk to him. Ness shook his head, not wanting to deal with him after a mission failure, but as always, he eventually gave in. Even if he'd continued to deny her suggestion, Paula would eventually speak out loud and force him to do it. Ness tugged at his collar to straighten it and sighed, finally making his way towards his authority. The Commander either didn't see him approach or didn't care, because he did not turn to acknowledge him. For extra measure, Ness cleared his throat.

"...Sir." He began. The Second only replied with a short hum, still not turning to look at him. Agitated, Ness glanced back at Paula, who shrugged unapologetically. He took in a deep breath to keep himself composed, and continued, "...You're making quite the big step, yes?"

"This mission is what will propel us into godlike power." The Commander responded, seemingly annoyed with Ness' obvious remark.

"A-ah, yes! Of course, of course...the mission to end all missions, you could say." Ness said awkwardly. The Second still did not look at him, but Ness could see him roll his eyes. He looked back at Paula again, who had her face in her hand. Ness swallowed nervously and tried again, "...I look forward to accompanying you."

The Commander suddenly looked up to face him, startling Ness a bit. His face, as usual, showed no emotion, but his voice displayed clear distaste, "I never said you would be joining me. The only ones attending this mission will be me and the soldiers I have chosen."

"B-but sir...!" Ness stammered, taken aback, "It is my sworn, sacred duty to accompany whoever sits in your position. I am your _General_ , my job is to protect you."

"And _I_ am your _Commander,_ and _my_ job is to give _you_ the orders, not the other way around. I don't need to bring along some twig."

"With all due respect, _Your Highness,_ " Ness slightly spat, unimpressed with the irritated reply, "Your chosen soldiers may be strong, but I overpower each of them by a landslide. I am world renowned as a PSI expert, and I have been trained in only the most advanced of combat. I defeated the manifestation of evil, a being that Satan himself would cower before. I alone could provide more protection to you than ten, even _twenty_ soldiers."

"Thirty, fourty, fifty, et cetera, _et cetera!_ " The Second advanced on him, "Over one million, General. That is how many soldiers we have in our corps. Practically an endless supply. If ten die, then ten replace them. But you said it yourself, you are one of the most powerful beings on not just the islands, but Earth as well. How many of _you_ do we have?"

Ness went silent for a moment, hand rested on his sword holster. His brow furrowed, and he took a step back towards him, "If I am killed, Doctor Andonuts can simply bring me back. It has happened before, and it can happen again."

" _There is only so much science can do._ " The Second's voice increased in force, "The day will come when your body has become so mangled, you will be completely non functioning. And on that day, you will be useless to me, and you will be useless to this army. We cannot risk that with such a dangerous mission!"

"Oh, but we can risk the lives of our soldiers, yes?" Ness challenged, raising his voice.

"There's thousands of them, and one of you!"

"My life is worth no more than theirs! At the end of the day, we are all human!"

"You are no human! You will never _be_ a human. We are _chimeras_ , General. We are the future of science and technology. Humans are _pitiful_ , and they are _weak."_

"I'd suggest you watch your _tongue_ , sir. I wasn't always a chimera." Ness hissed. They stood nearly face to face now, each provoked enough to launch into battle at any second. The Commander, unimpressed with the attitude Ness was showing, narrowed his eyes.

"I am your superior." He murmured after a long period of quiet, "I give the orders. You may be powerful, General, but I could tear you down to a god damn _cell_. I have made my decision, and I will keep it. Do I make myself clear?"

Another long, tense few moments of drawn out silence. They held eye contact, neither daring to blink or look away. Paula still stood nearby, ready to break up any fight that may occur. She kept her eyes on Ness, pleading that he wouldn't lose his temper, as he often did. She knew how hot headed the General could get. He would be left with critical injuries if he made the choice to attack The Commander, so she continued to pray that he would stay mature.

Ness, whose fingers rested on the grip of his sword, slowly realized that he was getting nowhere. He was talking to what was essentially a robot. Keeping his eyes narrowed, he clenched his jaw and removed his hand from his holster, taking a few steps back.

" _...Crystal._ " He murmured.

* * *

"You're an idiot. You are the biggest moron this world has ever seen, you know that? You just graduated, _valedictorian_ , from the highest level university with a degree, bachelor's, PHD, and literally everything else in _stupidity!_ "

"Cool it, Paula, I get it."

"You obviously _don't_ , because if you did get it, you wouldn't have risked getting your throat slit! Talking to our Commander in that tone, for god's sake. You'd be in less danger if you strapped dynamite to yourself and lit it in the middle of a forest fire, with man-eating _bears_ everywhere."

Ness rolled his eyes as Paula continued to follow him down the hallway leading from the auditorium. He wasn't entirely sure where he was going, but his mind was so clouded that he couldn't find the ability to care. He could now confirm, most definitely, he was not fond of his Commander at all. He walked with his eyes low and his hands stuffed in his pockets. Paula, who walked briskly beside him, sighed and glanced at her friend sympathetically. Ness was muttering things to himself under his breath. Paula couldn't tell if it was directed at her or not.

"I lost my cool, is all. Can you believe him? 'Ten die, and ten replace them'. No respect for anyone's life whatsoever." Ness spat.

"It's not his fault, Ness. He was quite literally programmed to think that way." Paula replied softly.

"It's not him I'm mad at." Ness said. Paula bit her lip, and nodded.

"...I see." She whispered, before speaking up again, "Ness, I know you're strong. But Jeff himself called The Commander his magnum opus. He's programmed with every punch in the dictionary. Don't mess with him, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, alright. He scared the hell outta me back there." Ness admitted, "I can't believe he denied my involvement. I'm his General, for god's sake. That's my _job._ "

"It's because he cares."

"Are you kidding me? He doesn't care about anything. You heard him, he can't lose me because it would be an inconvenience. He doesn't care. Nobody does anymore."

"I care, Ness. I always have." Paula murmured gently, slowing to a stop. Ness glanced at her and gave her a grateful smile.

"Ah, geez, sorry. You're right. And I'll always be thankful." Ness took her hand and squeezed it, as if apologizing for his previous remark, "Seems like nowadays, you and I only have each other, Lieutenant."

Ness began to walk again, but Paula didn't follow. She stood where she was, watching him go, thinking about what he'd said.

Even though Jeff was there with them, Ness and Paula had always been the closer ones. Back in the day, when they had embarked on their journey, the psychic connection they shared was special. Paula could never find the words to express how lucky she felt to have Ness in her life. Despite how bitter he'd become over the years, he always treated her with the same kindness and endearing attitude. She knew that this part of his personality would eventually fade away, and he would be left as a completely emotionless shell. But she had him now, and that was enough. It would leave wonderful memories. Paula had forgotten almost everything from her old life, but she couldn't imagine forgetting the moment she'd first met Ness. When he'd peeked into the shed she'd been kept in, behind bars. When he looked at her with those bright purple eyes and promised that he would rescue her. She could still feel the fluttering in her heart when he'd reached through the bars and took her hand to comfort her.

Paula didn't know what love felt like anymore. But as she watched him go, eyes fixated on that perfectly tussled black hair, that the feelings she used to hold for him were strong ones. She longed to feel them once again, but of course, all she felt was emptiness.

She sighed, as she turned the opposite way. She was a simple woman. All she wanted as a child was to marry rich and live her life peacefully. Perhaps she could've fallen for a lawyer, or a baron. Someone sophisticated. A gentleman. It was what her family always inquired she do. But, of course, it had to be this doofus who used to eat from a wastebin. As she walked, she smiled to herself.

' _I wouldn't trade that doofus for the richest, most sophisticated man in the world._ ' She thought.

* * *

"Again!"

Ness threw another punch, and once again, it was blocked by his Commander. The two stood apart from each other in the training hall. The Commander had several wires hooked up to his bare chest and back, tracking his every move and calculating each bit of energy going through his body. The wires trailed like vines to Jeff, who held a device that Ness figured was tracking how much power was being emitted. Unfortunately, Ness was forced to be the guinea pig for this particular experiment. Jeff required some samples of just how strong The Second was, and he needed to hit _something_. Apparently, according to him, a sandbag wouldn't cut it.

Ness shook his hand out a bit to relieve himself of the pain, rearing back into a prepared battle stance. Before him, The Commander glared back with dark, focused eyes. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, keeping himself energized, ready for Jeff's next order.

"Alright..." Jeff murmured after scribbling something down on a notepad, "Sir, try a combo. Let's see how much strength you can build up. As for you, General...sorry."

Jeff sent Ness an apologetic glance. Although he knew Ness could take the bruising, he still couldn't help but feel bad.

The Second took a step back, and before Ness had a chance to prepare, both of his arms were elbowed away. He was left vulnerable, and was then struck across the jaw from a flying roundhouse. Ness hit the floor along with a spatter of blood against the mat. Upon wiping his mouth and glancing back up, he saw that The Second had no signs of regret on his face. He simply looked back down at him, waiting for him to get up. Ness shakily got to his feet, quickly strapping his hand wraps back into place. He figured that the attack must've been brutal, because he saw Jeff wince. Jeff hastily reached into his coat pocket and retrieved one of the tissues he'd brought, as he knew he'd need them.

"Ah...might want to clean yourself up a bit, General." Jeff mumbled as respectfully as he could. As Ness began to wipe down the blood trailing from his nose and mouth, Jeff stopped to read his strange tracking device. His eyes widened, "Goodness! Would you like to know a little tid bit of information? If he was a human, not a chimera, that would've killed him. I'm very impressed, sir."

"I wouldn't expect anything less." The Commander muttered, seemingly satisfied with his work. Ness rolled his eyes the minute he wasn't looking.

When The Commander had decided that Ness would be his test subject, Ness knew that it was because he would take immense pleasure beating the crap out of him. This had been going on for nearly an hour, and his Commander didn't seem bored or tired of it. He was obviously still pissed off from the exchange the two had shared. Ness knew that this was part of his genetically altered canis instincts; the instinct to clarify that he was the alpha.

"Alright, you seem to be in good shape," Jeff said, "Let's give our poor General a break."

"Fine. I can't say I'm surprised he needs one." The Commander spat, looking Ness in the eye the entire time. Ness had to bite his own tongue to stop himself from saying anything he'd regret.

There was silence as The Commander allowed Jeff to remove the wires and cables taped into his skin. Ness' eyes trailed to his body. Only a few months, and the hunger was beginning to show. With his terribly pale, almost grey skin and painfully bony structure, it was almost jarring to look at. The last time Ness had seen his upper half exposed was during his creation. Back when his body looked healthy and nourished. To make it worse was just how strong he really was. Both Ness and Jeff knew that a body this thin shouldn't be able to naturally produce that much strength. Ness felt a small itch of sympathy; he knew that his Commander must've been in terrible, constant pain, for his weak body was forced to give power that he knew couldn't support it. Ness had suffered through this same pain himself, but the years left him numb and unaffected by it.

He sat down on a nearby bench and began to massage his own legs, which were the most battered out of everything. Early stages of bruises lined both of them, like clouds of red. He knew that by tomorrow, they'd fade to an unsightly purple. He winced, feeling the bones in his leg shift. Something was broken. Not a big deal, he thought, as broken bones could be fixed in minutes when Jeff was on the case. He bit his lip as he began to feel pain. While he'd grown used to the pain, he'd usually start to feel it if he focused. As he continued to press his thumb into his calves to ease the ache, he noticed The Commander looking at him again. Rather than his usual neutral expression, his brow was slightly furrowed. Ness squinted.

"Is there a problem, sir?" He asked, forcing away the venom in his tone.

"I should be asking you the same question." Replied the Second.

"Oh, of course. _Forgive me_ for taking a moment to ease myself, after I was just struck countless times with incredible force. My apologies." Ness muttered the first words he'd said since they'd begun this test. Jeff, nearby, backed away a few steps as he pretended not to notice.

" _Just_ when I thought you learned your lesson on what tone you should take with me." His Commander took a step towards him with sharp eyes, "Pick yourself up. You've already proven yourself to be pathetic to me, you don't need to try anymore."

" _Pathetic?_ " Ness repeated in disbelief, before catching himself. He remembered Paula's warning for him not to lose his cool. However, the last thing he was about to do was let himself be talked down to, whether he was lower status or not, "Forgive my disagreement, but I am not pathetic."

"N-now, now, let's not get mouthy, shall we, sirs?" Jeff stammered nervously, as he continued to back away.

"If the last few months have told me anything, they've told me that what you just said is bullshit." The Commander harshly replied, ignoring Jeff.

' _Oh no, oh no, oh no, Ness, calm down, buddy..._ ' Ness thought. However, his pride was overpowering his rational thinking. "Have they? Well, then! It seems I haven't had the opportunity to prove myself! It's understandable, seeing as you refuse to let me do my job. Perhaps that chance is what I need."

"And what was it you had in mind?"

"For the past hour, I've been taking endless hits, and I'm still able to stand," Ness once again tightened his hand wraps, before leaning back into a stance, fists raised, "I wonder what will happen if I'm given the ability to fight back?"

"General, please, your leg is clearly wounded-" Jeff insisted, but he was cut off by The Commander raising a hand to silence him, not taking his eyes off of Ness. His red eyes narrowed. Another few moments of silence.

"...Fine, then." He reared on to his back leg and took an opposing stance, "Fire at will, General."

A rush of both anxiety and adrenaline pulsed through Ness. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Jeff frantically scrambling away, taking shelter near the back wall. He could also see a few lingering soldiers who had stopped their training in order to watch the display. His limbs were aching from the unnatural strength his frail body was forced to give, and now that he focused on it, he could really feel the pain now. Wincing, he forced himself to tough it out, and tightened his fists. He tried to map out his first blow and what possibilities could occur. The longer he hesitated, the quieter it seemed to get. He could only just stand there for so long. Finally, abandoning strategy and just relying on impulse, Ness delivered a swift side kick, aiming for the shoulder.

The Commander almost seemed to pinpoint every movement in Ness' body, for he quickly reacting by trapping Ness' calf between his arms and twisting, causing Ness to lose his balance and hit the floor. A chorus of unsettled and intrigued murmurs came from the small surrounding crowd. Ness lifted himself off the floor with a stifled grunt, leaving a smear of blood where his face had been. He looked his Commander in the eye again, and saw nothing. Not even satisfaction. Ness was more than just provoked now; he was starting to get a little pissed off.

With an attack cry, he lunged towards him again and attempted to grab his shoulders, but was struck upside the jaw by an elbow and once again shoved to the ground. But Ness didn't collapse this time; he regained his footing and leaped back to his feet. He threw a hook swing, which was caught by his Commander, who barely even flinched when his palm met the forceful punch. They held a few moments of challenging eye contact, before instantly launching into a heated fist fight. Punch after punch, jab after jab. Ness continued to throw anything he could, but each time, his fists were blocked. And each time he would look at that face, he saw nothing. Not even a gleam in the eye, or a quirk of the lip. The fire in Ness' body only burned brighter as both of his wrists were grabbed and twisted behind his back at a painful angle. Ness let out a pained growl and struggled, careful not to break anything else. He knew that behind him, his Commander wasn't showing a single damned emotion. Ness grit his teeth and drew in a sharp, deep breath as the anger inside of him finally began to expose itself.

"Give me _something_ , god dammit!" He snarled. Ness yanked his wrists away from the iron grip and shoved his Commander's hands away, before managing to deliver a sharp jab to the chest.

The Commander stumbled back a few paces, and Ness could just barely make out a wince on his face. He glared back at Ness with a hint of surprise that'd he'd actually landed a hit. Ness had clearly hit hard, too, because his opponent was massaging the area with his hand. This didn't last, though, as the Commander instantly launched back into combat. Ness found himself more focused this time, being able to track and predict attacks much better than before. A sudden plume of flames whizzed past him, and he realized that PSI was being brought into this. Ness' heartbeat picked up as he dodged another fiery blast. He ducked to the floor and swung from behind, latching an arm around his Commander's neck. As his opponent began to thrash, trying to escape the headlock, he continued to use a barrage of psionic attacks. Ness winced and backed away as much as he could.

"N-No...!" He accidentally muttered under his breath.

"What now? Frightened of PSI, are we?" The Commander hissed as he finally broke free from Ness' grasp. He rounded on his heel to face him, a whirling, icy mist surrounding his hand.

"The combat rule is equal weaponry!" Ness reminded, dodging another blow.

"You're a psychic, aren't you? Go on, then! You wanted to prove your strength, didn't you? Prove it, if you really are the world renowned psychic people say you are!"

"Not against you! No!"

" _Spineless!_ "

" _No!_ "

Ness shoved him away and brought down his heel in a drop kick, striking his shoulder. The Commander lost his footing and hit the ground hard enough for a cracking sound to be heard. Something broke, Ness realized. Most likely a kneecap. A surprised gasp came from the onlookers. Ness stayed on alert where he stood, but The Commander didn't get up at first. He stared down at the floor, panting, before eyeing Ness and leaping back into standing. However, before he could even throw so much as a punch, his leg buckled from beneath him, and he once again fell to the floor.

' _I broke his leg supports. Sorry, Jeff..._ ' Ness realized. He'd cracked the artificial supportive bones implanted in the Commander's body. They were the only reason he could still stand with a broken leg.

The Commander looked up at Ness with the first bit of emotion he'd shown in the battle; a bit of surprise. Ness was a bit surprised himself, but didn't let it show. He stared right back with all the ferocity he could muster. He could feel his injured leg shake, but knew that it was better than being collapsed on the ground. He lowered his head a bit, challenging his Commander to say something.

"...How's that for 'spineless', _sir?_ " Ness quietly asked.

"Your PSI...I don't see why you're so hesitant to use it."

"It's none of your concern, I'd rather not say."

"Well, I order you to answer."

"Seeing as you've prevented me from doing one half of my job, I suppose you'll have no problem with me not taking orders."

"You swore an oath!"

"And you've already forced me to go against it!" Ness snapped, "Now. Have I, or have I not proven myself to be even the slightest bit more than 'spineless?' Or...what was it you called me? A _twig?_ "

Only five or so seconds went by, but to everyone in the room, it felt like hours of only silence. The Commander slowly began to realize that he was trapped. He looked at his crippled leg, then to his soldiers, then to his General. Jeff, who still strayed near the wall, looked as if he'd just seen a ghost with how violently he was trembling. A beat passed.

"Fine." The Commander spat, "You want to get killed out there? Be my guest. This army will easily find its way without you. The search for the first needle begins a month from today."

Ness' body relaxed as he bowed his head in satisfaction. Noticing that his superior was having trouble standing, he held out his hand.

"On your feet. Come on." Ness murmured.

"I gave you no permission to touch me." The Commander swatted away Ness' hand and shakily stood up, letting his wings deploy to use for balance.

Ness was left on the training mat, standing victorious. He watched as his superior left the hall, teeth grit. Jeff quickly grabbed his equipment and took off after the Commander, giving Ness an exasperated look. Ness mouthed a quick 'sorry' to him with a shrug. It could be mixed in moments, Ness thought. He turned to the remaining bystanders.

"What are you, asleep? Back to training, I want to see sweat!" He ordered. Immediately, the group scattered back to their respective mats and resumed their studies. Ness let out a sigh and sat down on the nearby bench again, grabbing a cloth and wiping the sweat off his forehead. He could feel his hair clinging to his face. His entire body seared with pain, but he couldn't care less. All he cared about was the fact that he'd finally put this self entitled Commander in his place.

' _You may be my boss, but_ _I'm the alpha dog here._ ' Ness thought bitterly.

As he gathered his wits and stood up to head to the hospital ward, only one fear traversed through his mind.

' _Little prick better not ask about my PSI again._ '

* * *

 **Hi! Just a few promotions, while you're still here.**

 **I'm writing a musical based on Mother 3, and lots of the songs can be listened to already on my YouTube channel at "Double Felix".**

 **Also, be sure to check out _'Icarus'_ , my other fic focusing on Ninten and Ness. There's lots of siiiiick fantasy stuff in there in a medieval setting, not to mention, Lucas and Claus are dragons, which is pretty kickass if I do say so myself. **

**I am writing a webcomic based on my original characters, viewable on my DeviantART, "Double-Felix". Go check out "Where the Bad Kids Live"!**


	3. The Maskies

Ness woke up in a familiar place.

He lifted his head and propped himself up, biting his lip in pleasurable bliss upon feeling smooth movement in his joints. He rolled his shoulders back, grunting in satisfaction. He swallowed, the back of his throat not feeling like sandpaper for once. His head felt content. He took in a deep breath; his airway felt clear. Words couldn't even describe the euphoria he felt in those few seconds. However, his attention was soon stolen by another spectacle. Just nearby, he was met with the brilliant light of a gleaming apparition. It was the gorgeous woman he'd met many moons ago. Ness' eyes widened. Although this wasn't the first time he'd seen her, it truly felt like it was. Instantly drawn to her, Ness slid off the cot and once again felt his feet touch the soft ground. Gripping the fabric of the striped nightclothes, he began to tentatively approach the spirit.

She knew he was there before she saw him. The woman, who was settled on her knees and looking down at something, turned to look at him. Ness immediately fell still upon feeling her vibrant, golden eyes pierce through him like lovely thorns. With a hand, she beckoned him closer.

"Come." She whispered, voice waving like the falling of fresh winter snow, "See what I've discovered amoung the hither plane."

Ness blinked, unsure of what to say. He bowed his head and obliged, slowly padding over to the spot where the maiden sat. He politely sat on his knees as well, cupping his hands in his lap. The woman was making an odd motion with her hand against the pitch black ground, as if running her fingers through a bag of seeds. She gave a happy, content sigh. Ness tipped his head to the side, confused.

"What're you doing?" He asked. The sound of his own voice, natural pitched and devoid of cracks, startled him.

"Can't you see it?" The woman prompted. She raised a cupped hand from the ground and tipped it over, as if spilling something from her palm. Ness focused intently on the spot, but still saw nothing.

"What am I supposed to be seeing?" He curiously reached over and touched his fingers to the spot.

Suddenly, a cold feeling ran up his arm. Ness gasped and scooted back, drawing away his hand in shock. He watched in amazement as the spot on the ground, which had been devoid of anything just moments ago, slowly faded to reveal an odd, shifting and swaying pattern. It took Ness a moment to realize that he was looking at water. The water, which was displayed with a purple hue, lapped at a sandy shore that only showed a bit before being covered by darkness. Ness watched the purple waves with interest, once again reaching his hand over to touch it.

"What the...?" Ness murmured, as the ripples of water swarmed around his hand in a rhythmic pattern. In the back of his mind, he heard an odd sound. He couldn't tell what it was, though.

"Does this sight look familiar, Ness?" The apparition asked.

"...No, not really." Ness replied absentmindedly. He was more focused on trying to identify the sound. The woman took note of his furrowed brow and smiled.

"Can you hear it?" She asked.

"I don't even know what I'm hearing." Ness said, "It sounds nice, though."

"You've forgotten what music sounds like." The woman said grimly, "How sad."

"Music?" Ness perked up. He focused on the sound again. He began to feel a slight itch of familiarity, "...Oh, that's right. Music. I _did_ forget what that sounded like, didn't I?"

He listened to the arrangement of notes once again. The longer it went on, the more he remembered it. He knew that there were words that went along to it, but he couldn't remember those. As he continued to stare down at the small peek of a shoreline, he it his lip and let the sound play within his mind. The time came when he even found himself humming along, as if it were a song he knew by heart.

"You remember." The woman said.

"Y-Yeah, I do..." Ness brushed back his hair, "But I can't remember where its from."

"Reflect on the last time you saw me."

Ness did so. He thought back to the last dream he'd had, which he could now recall perfectly. A few words clicked together, and suddenly made sense.

"The eight melodies." Ness breathed, "This is part of that song, isn't it?"

"So it is." The spirit nodded, pleased, "'Tis only a small excerpt, but it is from that sacred melody none the less. Earlier, during a moment of panic, you reminded yourself of it."

Ness raised a brow, "...You mean when I battled My Commander?"

"Try and recall the last battle you had that was so intense. You reawakened the fiery spirit you used to posses as a young boy." The ghost explained, "And thus, by doing so, you have reminded yourself of one of the melodies."

"I-I was only trying to defend my honour!"

"Exactly. You were doing the same thing centuries ago, when you fought back against the embodiment of evil himself; Giygas." The woman said, "And by remembering this melody, you have restored a piece of this world of yours. Only a small piece, but each piece is meaningful."

"But what do you mean this 'world of mine'?" Ness asked, "I don't understand."

"And you won't for a long time."

"Why can't you just tell me and be done with it?"

"I'm afraid this is something you must discover for yourself. This is a world only your mind can create. I can do no such thing." The woman said. "By recognizing parts of yourself that were lost; that is how the cloak of night can reveal the morn."

"But the Ness I was before is gone! How can I find something that's disappeared?" Ness asked, growing panicked as he felt himself slipping from the dream, "P-Please, I need more answers!"

The woman didn't answer. She turned away. Ness, desperate to stay asleep, continued to plead.

"I-I need help! I can't just return back to the way I was! Please, I'm just a chimera! Memories can't be that easy to find! I beg of you, help me! Let me stay asleep!"

* * *

Ness awoke with a loud gasp and a shortage of breath. Once again, he found Paula standing over him with a look of concern.

"Jesus, kid! It's four in the morning, wakey wakey, get up." Paula urged, prodding his shoulder to help him sit. Ness winced at the tightness in his body and the remaining aching from yesterday's fight. Paula clenched her jaw, "You've gotta stop freaking out in your sleep."

"A-Another one!" Ness stammered, "I-I had another dream. I remembered, I..." Ness trailed off and struggled to recall the faint sound of a distant melody. After a few seconds, he realized that he couldn't remember how it went. Frustrated, he sighed and gripped at his hair, "How did it go again...?"

"How did _what_ go?" Paula asked, "Ness, I don't know how you're managing to have dreams, but you need to get yourself together."

"No, you don't get it, I remembered one of the melodies!"

Paula went still, her back turned. She peered over her shoulder, eyes averted away from Ness'. She opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated for a few seconds.

"...Not possible." She murmured.

"But I did! I swear! Hold on..." Ness focused even harder, desperately trying to find the notes. However, it was long gone. He put a hand over his face, sighing, "Nevermind. I forgot how it goes again."

"You're scaring me, Ness." Paula shuddered and shook her head, "Can I change the subject?"

"Be my guest."

"Jeff wants to see you as soon as possible, the intercom sounded while you were having your little episode." Paula said.

Ness yawned and groggily sat up, disconnecting himself from the sleep device and stretching.

"Thanks for the heads up." Ness said as he stood up to quickly dress himself. He stopped when Paula rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Ness." She said, sternly looking him in the eye, "You need to shape up, got it? If the lord finds out what's happening, he'll get Jeff to uninstall what's left of you. You'll be a robot, basically."

"He won't find out, Lieutenant. I won't let him." Ness assured. Paula gave a curt nod.

"I should hope so." She murmured. "Now go see Jeff."

* * *

Ness never knew what was going to happen when he would see Jeff. All he knew was that his imaginary 'guinea pig attendance card' was going to be stamped once again. Seeing as Ness' entire body had gone numb and most of his bodily functions were controlled through machines built into him, he was often used as the test subject for several experiments from Jeff. These visits sometimes made him nervous, but most of the time, he was eager to see the new crazy ideas the scientist had come up with. However, seeing as the last thing Jeff created was the Commander, Ness was a bit on edge.

When he entered the laboratory examination room, Jeff was hunched over his desk, tinkering away, lost in his own world. Knowing how jumpy the blond was, Ness made sure to enter quietly and politely seated himself in the corner. The room was quiet, save for the buzzing lights and the tiny metallic clinks sounding from whatever Jeff was building. Ness glanced around at the bookshelves and drawers to keep himself occupied. His eyes trailed to the operating table nearby. Nothing laid upon it, making him sigh in relief. Come to think of it, Ness couldn't quite see anything that resembled a gadget possibly needing of testing. He leaned over in his seat to try and catch a glimpse of what Jeff was expertly crafting, but it was too small to see. Perhaps his friend needed to discuss something else.

It was only when Jeff suddenly sighed that Ness snapped back to attention. Jeff straightened up in his seat and steadied his glasses.

"Thank you for waiting." Jeff spoke, having known Ness was there.

"What can I do you for?" Ness asked, standing up. Jeff stood up as well, setting a petri dish on his desk. Inside the dish, Ness saw a speck that couldn't have been bigger than an almond.

"I wanted you to be the first to witness this." Jeff excitedly said, proudly putting his arms behind his back, "I've been developing something to hopefully make procedures easier."

"Oh? In what way?" Ness replied.

"See, our Lord was a bit frustrated at how many of our workers are being used as assistants or data managers, when they could be used as soldiers. Hearing this, I set to work." Jeff explained. "I want you to be the first to meet the newest member of the corps. He will be in charge of our information, processing, et cetera."

"One person doing all of that? Geez. Where is he?" Ness asked, looking around. Jeff only smirked.

"He's right here." He said. Ness once again looked around, confused.

"...No one is here but us, Jeff." He replied.

"Quite the contrary! Watch." Jeff cleared his throat, "Wake up, Ninten!"

Ness furrowed his brow, puzzled. Suddenly, he heard a short chime sound from above him. Ness looked up, noticing speakers built into the ceiling that hadn't been there before. He watch in wonder as a tiny dot of green light illuminated. A few mechanical whirs sounded, before a new voice was heard.

' _What can I help you with?_ '

Ness' jaw dropped, and he excitedly looked back at Jeff, who smugly grinned back. He held up a finger, motioning for Ness to stay quiet.

"Ninten, tell me the temperature of the room, please." Jeff said.

A few moments of silence.

' _The room's current temperature is 67 degrees Fahrenheit. That's pretty chilly. Consider putting on a light sweater._ '

Ness gave an impressed laugh, "Jeff, is that...?"

"He's in need of a bit more work, but he's nearly done." Jeff carried on, "This is N.I.N.T.E.N, our new artificial intelligence system."

"That is _sick,_ " Ness said, "Could I try?"

"Give it a shot. Here; ask him if he knows who you are. He has complete facial recognition programmed with every ID picture in the corps. There's a few cameras with a 360 view."

"Ah, alright, um..." Ness looked up, "Ninten, who am I?"

' _Easy. You're our General, of course. At your service, sir!_ '

A shiver went up Ness' spine; the voice sounded uncannily realistic, with only a slight robotic hint to it. Jeff must've put hours of work into perfecting the cadence and speech patterns. Ness turned to Jeff in astonishment.

"Where do I even begin?" Ness said.

"Just wait," Jeff replied, "Ninten, how wise is the idea of going on a raid today? Perhaps locating the first needle?"

' _I'd be against the idea. It is a bit rainy today, with a high chance of thunderstorms. This could cause damage to our equipment._ '

"But we're not bringing any equipment with us."

' _Incorrect. The Commander's left arm is made of metal, and although very strong, it could rust or come loose with the water build up, making him vulnerable to outside forces.'_

"Oh, alright. I suppose we can wait. One last question; what is the General's current Psionic energy level?"

' _Calculating,_ ' Ninten paused, ' _My General, you seem to be a bit drained. Consider having a rest or warming up with some combat exercises._ '

"Alright, then. That's all I need, thank you." Jeff said.

' _My pleasure, Dr. Andonuts._ '

And with that, Ninten went silent. Ness ran his hands through his hair, amazed. Jeff lifted his head, clearly proud of himself.

"Just how advanced is this AI?" He asked.

"Not quite human intelligence, but close. He's even been developing his own personality, likes, dislikes, the whole shebang. I shared a rather nice conversation with him earlier." Jeff said.

"Amazing. I'm serious, this is just incredible. I like how you named him after that one famous Psychic." Ness responded.

"I'm not even done yet. Come." Jeff waved his hand, gesturing for Ness to follow him to his desk.

"You mean there's _more?_ " Ness breathed.

"Correct! This is an idea that I'm debating, but I want you to be the first to try it out," Jeff picked up the petri dish he'd set down earlier. Ness saw that inside it was a single computer chip. Before he could ask what it was for, Jeff pointed to the operating table, "Sit there, please."

"Uh oh." Ness jokingly said, obliging.

"No, no, nothing bad. Don't worry." Jeff chuckled a bit himself, "Just for a heads up; I'm going to take out your USB for a moment, alright?"

Ness tensed up for a moment, but swallowed his nervousness and nodded, "...O-Okay, sure."

"Not to worry, it'll be like passing out. You'll be out cold for about ten minutes while I program this onto you." Jeff assured.

"Gotcha."

"Very good. Now, just relax, and close your eyes." Jeff said. Ness did so, and shuddered upon feeling Jeff's fingers around the base of his neck.

 _Click!_

* * *

"Ness? Ness, can you hear me, buddy? General?"

Ness' eyes lazily opened. Feeling a bit nauseous, he collapsed a bit, being supported by Jeff's arm.

"Y-Yeah I can hear you..." Ness replied as he felt his energy return to his body. Something felt different, but he wasn't sure what. "What'd you do to me?"

"I was thinking: Ninten will be pretty useful around the base, yes? But what if you're travelling somewhere else? That's when I got this idea. Ask him to wake up."

"...Uh, sure. Wake up, Ninten." Ness said.

' _Good day, My General. What can I help you with?_ '

Ness jumped slightly; the familiar voice came from his right side, and sounded much closer than before. He felt around the side of his face, and realized that he was wearing an earpiece of some sort. He glanced at Jeff, who smiled excitedly.

"Can you hear him?" Jeff asked.

"Yeah, clear as day!" Ness said.

"Good! Ask him something."

"Um..." Ness trailed off, "Ninten, what's my body temperature...?"

' _Your temperature is currently 86 degrees Fahrenheit. That's rather low, and could cause severe hypothermia. Consider getting warm as soon as possible._ '

"That's normal, Ninten. I'm always that cold, don't worry."

' _Understood. I will chart that information. Sorry for the misunderstanding, My General._ '

"No, that's alright!" Ness assured, gently resting his fingers over the earpiece. He looked to Jeff, "How do I turn him off?"

"You don't, he's always awake. But you can put him on idle mode. Just say 'That's all I need'." Jeff replied.

"That's all I need, thank you." Ness recited.

' _My pleasure, My General._ '

"There! How do you like him?" Jeff asked.

"Can he...read my thoughts, or anything?"

"Oh, no way. He isn't capable of PSI. However, he can detect emotion and changes in health." Jeff explained, "It may take some time to get used to him. He may startle you sometimes. If he's about to speak unprompted, you'll hear a little chime like what you heard before to warn you. Also, if you need his help, you need to be sure to say his name, or else he won't respond. Usually, he can tell whether you're talking to him or another person, but just do that to be safe." Jeff finished, "Sooo...do you like him?"

"He's great! You still continue to wow me." Ness said.

"Great! Because I want you to keep him for now. Ninten's installed into your USB drive, so it's kinda like having a little assistant in your head. I want you to test him out for a few months or so."

"So I'm like...the beta tester."

"That you are."

"Heh. Cool." Ness smirked, and a sudden idea popped into his head, "This is like that one time, when your dad...!"

Ness suddenly went silent. Jeff went still as well, looking at him with wide eyes. As the air went quiet, Ness stared at the ground. He tried to search for any conceivable way to explain how he'd just thought of such a thing, but he couldn't. There wasn't a single existing way to explain the sudden memory. But there it was, clear as day. For the first time in years, Ness felt something familiar. It was faint, but it was there. In the depths of his mind, he could see something. Ness' heartbeat sped up. Of course, he thought. How could he have forgotten something so prevalent in his past?

"...What about my father?" Jeff anxiously asked. Ness jumped out of his trance. He couldn't help but feel a bit guilty, as he knew Jeff's relationship with his father was strained.

"Y-Your dad, remember? We were kids..." Ness recited, "I can't remember why, but he took our minds and put them into robots, right? Remember that?"

Jeff squinted, bewildered, "I...I don't, no. I can't remember anything from that time, Ness. I can't even remember my father's face."

"But surely, you must! Something about our bodies not being able to handle something or other...!" Ness insisted, patting the side of his head as if to try and generate more memories. Suddenly, he heard the same four note chime as before emitting from his earpiece.

' _I'm detecting high levels of stress and frustration, My General. Take a deep breath and try to calm down._ '

Ness opened his mouth to respond to the artificial helper, but gave a defeated sigh and relaxed.

"R-Right." He murmured, "Sorry, Jeff, I've just been feeling... _weird_ these past few months."

"Clearly. How so?" Jeff asked, motioning for Ness to sit.

"Well, ever since the Commander arrived, I just..." Ness hesitated, "You must promise, not a word of this is heard by anyone."

"You have my word."

"Good. Well, I know this will sound odd, but...well, I've been dreaming."

"Come again?"

"I've been having dreams. Real ones, while I'm asleep. I-I know it's supposed to be impossible, but...I swear."

"...Huh." Jeff steadied his glasses, "Odd. What happens in these dreams?"

"That's just the thing, I can't remember. They're so vivid, yet when I wake, I recall nothing." Ness explained.

"A common occurrence with humans. But certainly not in chimeras. Ness, are you sure that you're experiencing these dreams?"

"Would I lie, Jeff?" Ness asked, "You must believe me, please."

"I do believe you, old friend, it's just...so bizarre."

Ness let out a deep breath, "I don't blame you. I don't even understand any of this. But I do know that this is real. I swear on my life."

"The science should be impossible, but...it is strange how you've been able to remember things that should've been erased from your mind." Jeff admitted.

"Jeff, please don't erase them again! It's only a glimpse into the past, but it feels so good, so familiar...!"

"Fear not, I have no intention of doing so. But you need to keep your mouth shut. If the Lord finds out, I'll have no choice but to erase them, because he'll force me to."

"I didn't plan to tell anyone else apart from you and Paula."

"Good. Let's keep it that way."

Ness nodded silently. He drew in his lip and turned away.

"I just wish I could remember what I saw." Ness muttered. Jeff was silent for a moment, as if thinking about it.

"...Perhaps I could help with that." Jeff suggested.

"Could you?"

"Mmhmm. Dreams aren't all that different from memories, and we store those all the time. Perhaps we could record what happens in your dreams, and when you're awake, we'll plant them back into your head so that you can see what happened." Jeff suggested.

"You could _do_ that?" Ness excitedly asked, leaning forwards.

"Sure. Take a wild guess who could help you with that." Jeff smirked. Ness reached up to touch his earpiece again.

"Really?"

"Really. Just tell him to record your thoughts while you sleep every night. He charts it down as data that can then be processed into images. We won't get a point for point retelling of what you saw, but we'll get the basic ideas."

"...Right, okay." Ness said, "Thanks. That'll help a lot. This is just...so strange."

"I'll admit, I'm quite shocked myself. But all we can do now is wait and see what happens. I fear that if this continues, you may start to become too human. Paula and I don't want to lose you."

"I know. I understand. But I think I'm willing to take this risk. Besides, what benefit would the Lord get out of erasing my entire self, huh? He keeps me this way to torture me, surely he wouldn't want to end all of his fun. The more human I am, the more miserable I feel."

Both boys shared a moment of snickering. It wasn't long before Ness was called off to perform some other duty. But even as he left to let Jeff go about his business, he felt a twinge of excitement, knowing how close he was to finding out what he'd been dreaming of. Perhaps, he thought, this could be his way of remembering the past. He knew he was the defeater of Giygas, but everything else was a blur. He wondered if he was going in too deep. It'd been years since he'd delved into his past memories. Another troubling idea also plagued his mind; how long would it be until he met his next dream? His first came months ago, not long after the Commander was recruited. There was no predicting if the next one would come in days, weeks, or even more months. How long until the next dream came?

For now, Ness thought, poor Ninten would just have to chart everything every night until one did.

* * *

The choice to locate all seven needles first before pulling them was an understandable decision, but a tiresome one.

On one hand, it was the right decision. From what was known, pulling a needle would cause a massive tremor to shake the country and the sky to flash. The Lord didn't want to risk other people seeing it, and then going after the needles on their own. It'd be easier just to pull each one quickly and be done with it before anyone else managed to find them. Not to mention, the mass hysteria could easily conflict with the plan.

But on the other hand, it was really fucking boring.

Ness wasn't sure how much time had passed as he walked along the long stretch of thick trees, completely silent. Several months had passed, and the mission had finally begun. He crept forwards behind his Commander, who scanned the area quickly and expertly for any sign of danger. The other ten soldiers asked to join were told to split apart to search quicker. Ness kept a close distance to his superior with one hand rested over his sword holster, in case he needed to use it. The seconds ticked by. The only thing Ness could see was an endless cycle of trees, grass, and the occasional stream or rock pile. The terribly repetitive scenery was beginning to wear him out. They'd been silently tracking through this forest for what seemed like hours. The one downside that not many people had thought of to this mission was the fact that they had absolutely no clue where the needles could possibly be. They were places holding incredibly powerful Psionic magic, so powerful that even Ness himself couldn't quite track it. Perhaps it was because he couldn't use PK Love.

He glanced up, catching sight of his Commander's fiery red hair. As the months passed, it had turned dull, dry, and scruffy. Ness watched him intently as they quietly snuck through the trees, the only sounds being the gentle ambiance of the forest and the sounds of leaves underneath their boots. Ness wondered if his Commander was able to track the needles himself. He seemed to know where he was going.

Suddenly, there was a slight rustling of leaves nearby, catching both off guard. They each froze, and Ness impulsively unsheathed his sword just a bit, not drawing it out the whole way. They looked around to try and spot whatever had made the sound. The noise was too inconsistent to be the wind. The patch of leaves shifted again, and the two quickly huddled up near each other, Ness placing himself in front of his Second. He drew out his blade and pointed it towards the direction of the sound, eyes narrowed. What terrifying entity could possibly be waiting beyond those trees?

A squirrel. It scurried out from the bushes, observed the two boys for a moment, then scuttled away, running over Ness' foot. It was quiet for a moment, before Ness finally broke down.

"This is _tedious!_ " Ness groaned, putting his weapon away.

"I recall you trying to destroy me just a few months ago, just to get put on this team." His Commander sternly replied, staring him down coldly. Ness shrugged. A few months had passed since their little spat, and Ness found that it was a bit easier to talk to the prince. Sure, he was still terrifying, but it was soothing to know that he held some assemblance of respect for Ness.

"...Fair enough." Ness mumbled, "Sir, with all due respect, have you any idea of where you're going?"

"Of course I don't, but the Lord said to search every square inch of land." The Commander straightened up to look around, before glancing back over his shoulder with a bitter look, "Ask your little friend where we are, won't you?"

"Right, right, okay. Ninten," Ness sighed. The four note chime sounded. "Where are we?"

' _Calculating. Oh dear, you seem to be very far from headquarters. You are within the forest surrounding the Drago Plateau. Be mindful of cliff edges and steep ravines. Also be weary; this area is prone to forest fires due to its close proximity to Thunder Tower._ '

"We're near Tazmily." Ness confirmed.

"Then we must be careful for their trained dragos. Come along."

"Y-Yes, alright." Ness nervously nodded, tentatively following. The Commander glanced over his shoulder, clearly unimpressed.

"You sound like a frightened child."

"Sorry, sir."

"What now?"

"Um..." Ness glanced around. The area was giving off an aura of static. He swallowed anxiously, "W-We're just near Thunder Tower, is all."

"And?"

"A-And..." Ness hesitated, "N-Nothing, sir. Let's just keep going."

"Wait just one moment. If there's danger, then I need to know about it. That's an order." The Commander insisted.

"No danger, nothing of the sort!" Ness hastily assured, "I just...don't like this place very much."

"And why, pray tell, is that?"

"Oh, it's not important, it's fine. C'mon, that needle isn't gonna find itself."

" _General._ "

Ness bit his lip, wishing he'd never brought it up in the first place. He took a moment, hesitating to answer, before sighing.

"This, well...this is the resting place of...your predecessor, sir."

The Commander paused to take a look around.

"Ah." He replied, "She perished within the fire that took place within this forest not too long before I arrived, yes?"

"Y-Yes, sir. She disappeared into the flames." Ness explained.

"Why did Dr. Andonuts not simply bring her back?"

"We never found the body. The Lord found it easier to simply get a new Second."

"Seems like the previous one wasn't nearly as strong as she needed to be." The Commander said. Ness grit his teeth to stop himself from saying something he'd regret. He'd already earned at least some respect from his superior, and he certainly didn't want to lose what little he had.

"...Yes, sir." He reluctantly agreed. It hurt to say it. The previous Commander was a radiant, powerful creature. In fact, she was stronger than this current one would ever be. But Ness said nothing, as much as he wanted to defend her honour. His attention was stolen by the sound of Ninten's chime, plus an extra alert to indicate he was going on speaker so that both could hear.

' _General, Commander, it is wise to find shelter immediately. I'm detecting signs that you are not alone._ '

Both stopped in their tracks. Ness impulsively drew his sword and backed up towards his Commander, who unsheathed his weapon as well. As they went silent, they each scanned the charred trees around them. Ahead, the skies were overcast and grey. Ness prayed that no rain was approaching, or both of them would be slowed down both mechanically and strength wise. Ness glanced back at his superior, who kept a stern, focused gaze on the forest. He knew that he had much sharper hearing, and from the looks of it, he was catching something. As Ness' heart rate sped up, he switched his attention to the forest again.

The whole area seemed to go quiet. Without the sounds of their footsteps or voices, the air was almost completely silent. The wind drifted quietly through the trees, just barely rustling the leaves. Several seconds went by, and nothing happened. Ness, wondering if perhaps the AI had been mistaken, he cleared his throat.

"Ninten," He whispered, "Are you sure? Give me stats."

' _Right away. I'm fairly certain. Let's see..._ '

"Surely the thing just malfunctioned." The Second muttered.

"Just a moment, sir, he's processing," Ness replied, feeling a sudden wave of dread, "Besides, I-I'm starting to think he may be right..."

' _Approximately 6 feet in height. Quite slow in walking patterns, and the lack of background noise indicates that it is quite stealthy._ '

Ness' heart dropped, "C-Commander...!"

' _Confirmed species: Varanus Draconis._ '

"General, incoming, four O'clock! Tuck and roll!"

The Commander barely finished his hasty order when a loud, earth shattering shriek split the air. Ness threw himself to the ground and somersaulted back onto his feet, pivoting around to face the scene. Staggering to a stop, clearly having aimed for Ness, was a massive, dull green shape. It snapped around to face him, and he was met with a pair of piercing, narrowed eyes with mere slits for pupils. A rounded muzzle crinkled back into a snarl, revealing several fangs that looked as if they could cut through the purest of steel. Beneath its sturdy legs were jagged claws sinking into the ground as the creature steadied itself. It was a drago, and it was not happy. Ness swallowed nervously as he furrowed his brow, aiming his blade in front of him. Behind the intruder, he could spot his Commander. They locked eyes, and gave each other a quick nod to signal acknowledgement. Ness tightened his fingers around the grip of his weapon and backed away as the massive creature eased towards him. He held a staring match with it for a good few seconds, the area once again going quiet.

Suddenly, Ness stepped on a twig. The small snapping noise instantly launched the drago into a frenzy. Ness braced himself and quickly dodged another attack. The animal bit at him, just barely missing him. It skidded against the ground before hurling itself at Ness again. This time, Ness advanced, delivering a swift blow to the muzzle. The drago thrashed out in response to the pain, letting out another caterwaul that echoed through the woods. It twisted around to try and snap at Ness, who sprinted to its side to try and do some damage to the soft, weaker underside. Ness aimed, but was suddenly struck by one of the strong back legs. He hit the ground and pushed away the wave of dizziness. Up ahead, he could see his Commander launching into action. It had been the first time Ness witnessed him in an actual battle, besides the one they'd had months ago. Needless to say, he was amazed. He'd never seen a person move so quickly and dynamically.

But what was even more curious was the drago's behaviour. It seemed incredibly hesitant to attack, even looking frightened at some moments. The Commander, stood a good distance away, blade positioned, as he stared down the creature. The drago seemed to waver, observing him with either interest or confusion. The Commander jerked forwards a bit, threatening to attack, and the animal recoiled with a cross between a growl and a whimper. It tipped it's head to the side, letting out a quiet chitter. Ness watched, puzzled.

' _It doesn't look afraid of him at all..._ ' He thought. ' _This is one of their trained dragos, isn't it? Surely it would attack the minute it saw him_.'

The drago took a hesitant step towards the Commander, again making the curious purring sound. The Commander hissed back, taking another threatening step and raising his weapon. The drago yelped and drew back again. Its claws with digging into the ground. Its instincts were clearly telling it to attack, but for some reason, something was holding it back. It looked around wildly, as if searching for an answer.

Then, to Ness' amazement, it slowly backed away into the trees, before taking off into the forest.

The Commander wasted no time, and broke into a sprint after it. Ness snapped out of his trance and went after both of them, panicked.

"S-Sir, wait-! Surely there's no need to take further action!" Ness called.

"I want every person in Tazmily to know _exactly_ what they're dealing with!" The Commander spat. Up ahead, the frightened drago was desperately scrambling to escape the two.

"But its a female, it might have young!"

"What of it? The sooner they die, the less we'll have to deal with!"

"...Yes sir." Ness reluctantly replied, gritting his teeth and forcing himself to go along.

Thus, he kept chase. Despite all of the enhancements both boys were given, their running speed was unfortunately quite average, and barely enough to keep up with a fully grown drago. But the Second seemed to have his heart set on destroying the creature, and showed no signs of slowing down. Ness felt an uneasy feeling growing within him as they delved deeper into the woods, so much so that he found himself failing to navigate his way through the trees properly. Several times, his shoulder would strike a tree, or he'd stumble a bit. He hoped and prayed that the citizens of the nearby Tazmily wouldn't come to investigate, as they could no doubt hear the ruckus.

"God _dammit...!_ " The Commander sharply muttered, realizing that there was no way they could keep up at this point.

"Maybe we should go back!" Ness exclaimed, taking note of Ninten's alert sounding.

' _I'm detecting another presence in the area. Smaller. A human being.'_

"What'd it just say?" The Commander asked, only slowing his pace a little.

"There's..." Ness trailed off, distracted by searching the trees for any out of place shapes. He focused clearly, still running, and tried to pinpoint anything through the endless stalks of bark and leaves.

Suddenly, he caught just a quick flicker of movement; a dark shadow. He could just barely make out a skin tone of another person, not too far away from them. Ness instantly recognized it as not one of their own. He began to utter a warning, but was caught off guard when the person withdrew something from underneath what looked like a cloak. Ness realized all too late that it was a bow with an already positioned arrow.

" _A-Ah! Commander! Duck!_ " Ness cried, before throwing himself at him superior and shoving him to the ground, using his own body as a shield.

The Second glanced up at him with a look of bewilderment, but quickly understood upon seeing an arrow pierce a tree just above them. He realized exactly what was going on, and quickly gathered his wits. The two chimeras quickly got to their feet and immediately took chase, closing in on their surprise attacker. The person stayed where they were, continuing to let loose a barrage of arrows, each one barely missing their target. Ness realized that they were using PSI with each arrow, the tips of which were either coated with an icy spell or a ball of flames. As they came closer, the person dropped the bow and resorted to PSI alone, delivering an impressive combination of attacks. Ness went pale and swallowed nervously, but pushed the feeling away and prepared his weapon. Behind the person, he could see his Commander, who charged up a quick thunder attack.

" _PK Thunder!_ " The Commander summoned a violent flash of electricity that ripped through the air, nearly forcing Ness to cover his eyes. It struck the person, who was thrown a good few feet by the blast, but quickly regained their footing.

The person thrust their arms to the sides, shutting their body within a temporary psionic shield of light. As Ness and his Commander circled the attacker, ready to strike the minute the shield ran out of energy, they observed the stranger. It looked like a female, covering herself with a dark brown hooded cape. Covering the top half of her face was an odd, blank-eyed mask that curved into a beak-like shape at the nose. Ness recognized the mask as something village apothecaries would often wear when treating ill citizens.

Before he had a chance to process, the shield broke, and the girl delivered the first blow. She unleashed an icy blast that circled her and spread out towards the two boys, managing to strike Ness upon the shoulder. He winced and clutched the ice burn, noticing that the Second had also been hit on the arm. The girl took her moment to escape, realizing that she had no chance against two chimeras. She quickly took off, prompting the Commander to thrust a hand in her direction, causing the earth below to shift from a powerful PK Ground attack. The girl once again fell to the forest floor with a grunt, having tripped and fallen from the small tremor. This time, she was pinned there by the Second, who held her down by his boot. Ness caught up behind and knelt down to pin her wrists, leaving her unable to aim if she chose to use PSI. The girl angrily struggled, surprisingly strong for a human.

"Back off, Maskies! Hands off!" She spat, thrashing around violently. Ness took note of her blue dress that was tied around her legs.

"Oh, so is that the trendy new slang you like to call us nowadays?" The Commander asked, voice dark. "Explain yourself, civilian. You dare attack your superiors?"

"Superiors, my _ass_. I'd rather die than accept you freaks as my leaders." The girl replied.

"We can _arrange_ that if we _need_ to." The Commander said, digging the heel of his combat boot into her skin. "Now, explain yourself! Who are you?"

"A soldier of freedom, that's what!" She replied sharply, "The Resistance is growing stronger by the day!"

' _Resistance?_ ' Ness thought. He hadn't heard of such a thing.

"Explain everything, or you will be given the proper treatment that subspecies like you deserve!" The Second threatened.

"I'm not saying anything! _Death to the livestock king!_ "

Suddenly, the girl's psionic aura brightened. Before either chimera had time to react, a there was a bright flash, and she was gone. She had teleported. The Commander stared down at the human-shaped outline in the grass, before ramming his heel into the ground in frustration. Ness slowly stood up, still stunned at the occurrence. Teleportation wasn't an easy feat, yet this mysterious girl had done it. What shocked him even more was the last few words she'd uttered before disappearing.

' _Death to the livestock king._ ' Ness repeated in his head. Something about that seemed so eerily familiar. He'd heard that before, years ago.

"General, did you hear me?"

"H-Huh? What?" Ness glanced up to meet the disapproving eyes of his Commander.

"What are you, deaf? I said to alert The Lord of this supposed 'resistance' immediately. We can't risk any delays, we need to find that needle before they do. If that girl is capable of teleportation, she could very well be capable of PK Love." He ordered.

"Right, yes, Your Highness, right away," Ness nodded, "Ninten, send a message back to headquarters."

' _Done and done, General, sir. It's already on its way._ '

"Good robot." Ness replied, "This has me worried. A resistance."

"Oh, please. A group of a few humans who can't handle it. All it takes is a few interrogation sessions, and they'll be converted easily."

"I wouldn't be so eased, Commander. A group of rebels can be a dangerous thing. We must be weary." Ness advised.

"So be it." The Commander sighed, "Best to forget. We won't find that needle by standing here worrying."

Ness only gave a curt nod in response. He sheathed his blade and recounted where they were, and they once again set off.

"N-Ninten," Ness stammered, trying to calm himself down, "Set a marker for this forest, won't you?"

' _Right away, my General. I'm sensing an increased heart rate and signs of nausea. Please consider resting, or taking some deep breaths. There's nothing to be afraid of._ '

* * *

"So you're saying that if Ninten records your thoughts, you can play back your dreams like a video recorder?"

"In a way, yeah. That's what Jeff said."

Ness sat down on his cot as he undid the laces on his boots. Paula, who was already in her underclothes, sat against the wall with her arms behind her head. She gave an impressed nod.

"Huh. Neat. That little AI friend is pretty sweet, yeah?" Paula said, eyebrows raised.

"I'll say. I'm really starting to like him. He saved my ass earlier today during the search." Ness explained.

"Oh, that's right, you looked for the needles today. I heard you found jack shit."

"Pretty much. We got attacked by a drago, then some girl."

"Wasn't she part of a rebel group or something?"

"Of sorts." Ness said, falling back onto the mattress, "A resistance. People who don't like The Lord's leadership, and go against it."

"Is it bad that I'm _kinda_ rooting for them?" Paula joked.

"I don't blame you. It gives us _some_ bits of hope." Ness shrugged. "Something about it rubs me the wrong way. They wear these creepy mask things and dark coats."

"Spooky. Well, best we can do is keep our guard up." Paula said, laying on her back and preparing to plug in her sleep device, "Just go to bed and worry about everything tomorrow. Tell me if you have any dreams."

"Will do." Ness replied. He laid down as well, "Ninten?"

' _How can I help you?_ '

"Can you chart down what's going on in my mind tonight, and send it to Dr. Andonuts for him to analyze?"

' _All finished. Sleep well, my General._ '

"Thanks, you too."

' _I cannot sleep. I am an artificially manufactured program._ '

"Ah, right. Um...well, power down, or...whatever you do."

' _Right away._ '

The tiny voice in Ness' head went silent, and he sighed. Knowing that every thought running through his mind was now being sent straight to Jeff's monitor, he settled down, clicked the plug into place, and rested his head. Once again, he relished the pure peace he felt, just laying there. Every thought left his mind, and slowly, he powered down, and settled into a content, steady sleep.

* * *

Ness was still shrugging on his coat as he rushed to the laboratory wing. The early morning hustle and bustle around him parted as he quickly jogged, excitedly thinking to himself. He couldn't remember what had happened in that dream, but he knew he'd had one. He remembered feeling something so blissful, waking up had almost brought him to tears. He could barely stand not knowing what it was. In those few hours he got to sleep, Ness had experienced true euphoria. Maybe, with the help of Ninten's data collection and Jeff's technology, he would be able to relive such a feeling.

He barely even spared a glance to the receptionist upon entering the foyer. He simply ran right past, one sleeve already pulled up and his wrist ready to be scanned. Without a second thought, he rushed to Jeff's door and scanned his barcode, before bursting into the room.

"Jeff!" Ness breathed, immediately spotting Jeff seated at his computer.

Jeff tensed up, but didn't answer. On the screen in front of him, Ness only saw a stream of numbers and coding that he'd never be able to understand himself. He didn't care, however. He simply rushed to Jeff's side excitedly. The scientist drew in his lip and glanced up.

"You...had a dream." Jeff acknowledged with a bow of his head.

"Yes, of course I did!" Ness exclaimed, confused by Jeff's hesitant nature, "So, what're you waiting for? Ninten sent you the scripting, right?"

"Ah, yes, he did..." Jeff nodded, "...It's been converted."

"Show me, then! I dunno _what_ I saw last night, but I've _got_ to see it again." Ness urged. He hadn't been this excited for anything in a long time.

"You seem rather...enthusiastic to see your dream again." Jeff said.

"I'm thrilled! C'mon, Jeff! Show me!" Ness insisted.

"If what you remember really was that great," Jeff began, turning to the screen and typing in a few lines of foreign code, "Then I don't know if this is what you'll want to see."

Ness tipped his head to the side, one brow raised. He barely had time to process what Jeff had said to him before the computer screen flickered slightly, emitting a few static noises. Ness quickly bent over to get a better look, completely fixated. He watched as the screen continued to twitch. To his slight disappointment, the screen was black, and showed no signs of changing. The sharp sounds continued, becoming more and more frequent. A strange, distorted screeching noise came from the footage. Ness couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, as it was too broken. The noise didn't seem to follow a pattern. But after a few seconds, it began to develop a tone. Something about it seemed familiar to Ness. But slowly, he began to make out what he was hearing. Bit by bit, Ness' excitement crumbled away and turned to confusion. The confusion turned to anxiety, and the anxiety turned to fear. Ness' mouth went dry as he realized what he was hearing.

Ness was listening to the sound of his own bloodcurdling screaming.

It was definitely his voice. Seconds went by, and the dream version of Ness kept shrieking. Ness knew he didn't even have the ability to scream that loud, as his vocal chords were quite damaged and worn. Often times, he couldn't go above a high shout. But this was unmistakably him. He sounded terrified and agonized at the exact same time. This wasn't what Ness remembered feeling at all. The feeling he remembered was one of joy and peacefulness, a feeling of tranquility. But this only triggered a sense of dread. He couldn't even begin to put together why a memory of a dream that never happened was more familiar than the display of a dream that actually did. Suddenly, he remembered something key Paula had mentioned to him the morning after the first dream he'd had months ago.

 _'She told me I'd been screaming in my sleep._ ' Ness thought, _'I wonder if this is connected...?_ '

Eventually, the footage lagged, and cut out. Both Ness and Jeff stared at themselves in the black screen, Jeff's face being grim, and Ness' expression showing only bewilderment. Several moments of quiet went by, neither knowing what to say. Eventually, Ness snapped out of it.

"...But..." He murmured, "...J-Jeff, I..."

Ninten suddenly woke up, ' _I'm detecting signs of anxiety, including a high heart rate and shortage of breath. Consider taking a moment to calmly analyze the situation and gather your wits. If you feel any struggle breathing or pain in the chest, go seek medical attention immediately.'_

"A-Ah, right...thank you, Ninten..." Ness whispered, "Are you sure you gathered the right data when I asked you to record my mind last night?"

' _I'm very positive, yes. I charted down the exact activity within your mind. Has there been a malfunction?_ '

"There _has_ to be! Something's clearly wrong, and-" Ness quickly stopped himself and took a moment to breathe, "...No, no, it's alright. You did exactly what I asked, Ninten. Thank you."

' _At your service, my General._ '

Ness gazed back at Jeff, who looked at him with an expression of complete unknowing. Jeff shrugged, leaning back in his chair.

"This tape came directly from your mind." Jeff said.

"B-But this isn't what I remember! That dream felt like heaven itself, why would I sound so pained? A-And why can't we see anything?" Ness rambled.

"Ness, if I had the answers, you know I would tell you. But alas, there's nothing I know. My advice? Leave it alone. What we remember from our dreams as opposed to what they really were can vary. Remember, you're a chimera. You haven't dreamed in a little over 300 years. Perhaps your brain is just messing up your interpretation." Jeff suggested.

"But I know what I felt, I'm sure of it!" Ness protested.

Jeff didn't answer. He simply stood up and gave Ness a supportive pat on the shoulder, again showing him that he had no answers. As Jeff went about his daily business, Ness only stood there, hands rested on the desk, as he stared at the blank computer screen. Countless minutes seemed to pass as he simply thought to himself on how this could've happened. This had to do with the dreams themselves, but seeing as he could remember any of them, he had no answers. Frustrated, Ness left it at that. He'd find a way to figure all of this out.

He wasn't sure how yet, but it would happen.


	4. Ness Makes a Questionable Decision

For the first time in nearly three centuries, Ness overslept.

At first, he thought the clocks were malfunctioning when he awoke and saw that it was, strangely, 4:30. But upon looking to his side, he saw that Paula was already gone. Odd, he thought. He didn't remember getting up and waking her. How could she have done so on her own? That was when it hit him; his sleeping device hadn't worked. Somehow, he'd stayed asleep past the scheduled time. Ness scrambled to his feet and hastily got himself dressed, not bothering to tuck in his dress shirt or fully do up his tailcoat buttons.

"How the hell does that even happen?!" Ness hissed under his breath as he rushed to get himself together. He heard Ninten wake up.

 _'If I may, sir. There was a slight interference with your programming last night, prompting you to momentarily shut down. Chances are, you malfunctioned._ '

"...'Malfunctioned'?" Ness repeated.

 _'Your inner will overpowered the scientific coding in your body. The slumber device failed to work because it had no affect on you_.' Ninten finished.

"H-How, though? I'm wired specifically to automatically oblige to whatever our computers demand." Ness said as he hastily exited the room.

' _As I said, you malfunctioned. Consider visiting Dr. Andonuts to have your equipment checked and mended_.'

"...Sure, yeah. Okay. I'll get right on that, I guess…" Ness half mindedly replied as he shuffled down the hallway and found himself in the crowded main floor area. To his relief, no one seemed to notice his sudden attendance, although he did receive some passing glances, most likely due to his disheveled appearance. Ness tried to nonchalantly tidy himself up a bit as he walked, pretending to look busy. He muttered quietly, "Hey, Ninten? Got any idea where the Lieutenant General is?"

' _Give me a moment, as I calculate the Lieutenant General's location_.' Ninten paused for a few moments, ' _She is located in the loading bay._ '

"Oh, that's right. She was ordered to supervise the something-or-other." Ness remembered, taking the first turn to get to the dock.

' _The expulsion of the population from a town close to Tazmily._ ' Ninten reminded.

"...Right, right, the...expulsion." Ness mumbled. God dammit, he thought. Not another one.

It didn't take long to reach the loading dock. The place was already thriving with life, as sets of soldiers moved like clockwork to prepare for the attack. The airships were being stocked, the horses were being groomed, and weapons were being loaded and sharpened. As usual, the crowd parted easily as Ness passed. The blockade door had been lifted to allow the fleet to pass through, exposing the outside world. The sky was grey and overcast; the usual. Through the dull pink jackets, he could pick out the clean white uniform of Paula, who stood near the exit bay, hands behind her back as she observed the process. When she spotted Ness, he could practically hear the taunting he'd have to endure once reaching her. Malicious intent sparked through her eyes. Figuring it'd be best to just go ahead and get it over with, Ness quickened his pace and rushed to greet her.

"Alright, Lieutenant. Go ahead, lay it on me." Ness sighed, crossing his arms.

Paula smirked, "Gladly," She cleared her throat, "Geez, we never get missions done on time with you in charge. You're always saying, 'five more minutes'."

"Clever, very clever. Carry on."

"The traits of a traditional General are bravery, integrity, determination, and respect, and...what's the fifth one, narcolepsy?"

"Hilarious."

"My friend Ness always sleeps well. He gets a full eight hours a day, and then another twelve at night."

"Okay, that's enough." Ness couldn't help but grin, "I can't believe it. I overslept. According to Ninten, I 'malfunctioned'."

"Damn right you did, Jeff's tech is hard to beat. The fact that your biological being could overpower your coding is insane." Paula said, "Did you have a dream?"

"No, not that I know of." Ness replied. He groaned and hung his head, rubbing his eyes, "Lord, I don't wanna deal with this right now. Do we have to do a cleansing _today?_ "

"S'what the Lord wants. If he wants more people in his city, he's gettin' it." Paula shrugged, "These guys aren't like Tazmily; they're tough. We've been trying to influence them to come with us for a while now, but they're still refusing. If a fight is what they want, a fight they'll get."

"God dammit. I wish they'd just agree and come along. They know that they'll end up dead if they try to stay away." Ness said.

"Some people would rather die than live under Master P's ruling." Paula said grimly. Noticing that Ness had gone solemnly quiet, she decided to change the subject, "A-Anywho! Is the Commander planning on going to search for the needles again any time soon?"

"Funny you ask, because he wanted to go today. Part of me is hoping it rains." Ness mumbled.

"Didn't you almost get yourself torn to shreds just to get added to his mission team?" Paula asked, half teasing.

"I did that because I wanted to put him in his place and do my _job_ , not because I actually wanted to go." Said Ness. He cleared his throat and projected his voice, "Ninten? How's the idea of going after the needles today?"

' _A wonderful idea! Aside from a rather overcast sky, I can't detect any reason for you not to go on a search, sir._ '

" _God_ dammit…" Ness muttered.

' _Pardon, sir? Did I say something wrong?_ '

"What? Oh, nonono, you're good, Ninten. That wasn't at you. Thank you."

' _At your service, sir._ '

Ness faced the wall behind him and let his forehead thump against it several times, emitting a low groan from the back of his throat. Paula, her lips pressed into a thin line, nodded sympathetically and patted his shoulder as Ness continued to ram his head into the cement wall with increasing force. It wasn't like he could feel it anyways.

Eventually, the deployment alarm sounded, and Paula hung her head with a sigh.

"Guess that's my cue." She mumbled, "Try and find something today, won't you? The faster you find those needles, the sooner I won't have to deal with this shit."

" _And_ the sooner the world's population is forced into labour and King P wins." Ness replied.

"...You know what? Take your time." Paula said, "Let's hope Ninten's watching over you."

"Heh, yeah." Ness said, waving as she turned to walk away, "See you later."

'. _..Sir?_ '

Ness perked up, "What's up, Ninten?"

' _Despite what the Lieutenant General has told you, I'm afraid that as an artificial program, I cannot protect you from that many things. I hope you do not have that much dependence on me._ '

Ness' brow knitted as he tried to put together what Ninten was saying, before he finally came to a realization. He couldn't help but chuckle a little, "Oh, Ninten, no, that's not what she meant. She didn't mean _you._ She meant...y'know, _other_ Ninten. It's an expression."

'' _Other' Ninten? I wasn't aware I was a multi-unit system_.'

"No, I-! Ah, right, you wouldn't get it." Ness murmured as he turned to walk back down the direction he came, "It was a long time ago, before I came to this army. See, you were named after someone."

' _Is that so?'_

"Yeah, and you know what? He remains one of the most important people in history." Ness explained, "His name was Ninten too. That's where your name came from. Jeff was a pretty big fan of him."

' _Does this person have an imprint of sorts? I would assume so, seeing as he is as important as you make him seem.'_

"Well, technically, I'm not allowed to tell you about him, but…" Ness pondered, keeping his voice low, "This Ninten guy was really something special. It started in 1984, when I was...I think _three_ years old, I can remember the news channel telling us to get into the basement and to brace for an attack."

' _An attack? By who?_ '

"Extraterrestrials. Aliens, basically. Just one. Hellbent on getting their revenge on the Earth, y'know?" Ness said, "But this kid, he was only twelve years old, he went out and fought back. All he had were a few other friends with him, but he's the one everyone remembers."

' _A child fought against an alien being?_ '

"He did. And he won. I can't remember all the details. But 'Ninten' is a name everyone knows. He saved us all. He was knighted, he was declared a national hero. I can remember that, at least."

' _And what did he do afterwards? Did he become an almighty ruler?_ '

"...No, he became a singer."

' _That's it?_ '

"I guess so. It's what he wanted to do. Even after saving the world, he just wanted to do what he loved. Lucky bastard." Ness snickered, "I met him once. I was just a kid, but I was so starstruck by this guy. It was like meeting a god. Jesus, I can't even remember what he looks like, or what he sounded like. All I remember is that I met him."

' _Pardon my asking, but are you not the Defeater of Giygas? In a way, you followed in his footsteps. Surely you reconnected with him afterwards?_ '

Ness paused solemnly, "...Well, no. It's a really sad story, actually," Ness took a moment to sit down against a railing overlooking the training hall, "He was still really young; still in his teens, I think. One night, news spread that he'd vanished."

' _Just like that?_ '

"Yep. It started just as a missing person case, but months passed, and he still hadn't been found. That was, until one night. A couple of teenagers were dicking around in a cornfield, and found a sneaker. That sneaker was Ninten's." Ness explained, "After putting two and two together, everyone realized that Ninten was taken."

' _And he never came back?_ '

"Never. I don't even wanna think about what must've happened to him." Ness said, "...Well, anyways. That's where the expression came from. Since Ninten was so heavily respected, people started to refer to him as a spirit, or some higher being. Thus, the idea of Ninten watching over you."

Ninten hesitated for a moment, '. _..How fascinating. To think that I was named after him._ '

"Yeah. It's a big honour. Good lord, I don't remember much from my life, but I can remember how much the popularity of the name 'Ninten' skyrocketed. Every single child born, girl or boy, had that name." Ness shook his head, amused, "Now, of course, the next name to explode into popularity in 1994 was Ne-"

He quickly caught himself, going silent.

"...Y-Y'know, _my_ name." Ness finished, ' _Too close._ '

Ninten gave a small chime.

' _Ness D. Wyman?_ '

Ness' body froze from top to bottom. Mouth slightly ajar in shock, he looked down to the floor. If his skin wasn't numb before, it definitely was now. A tingling sensation ran up his arms and legs. Familiarity crashed into him like a runaway freight train. Ness, now trembling, gripped the fabric of his jacket to keep himself composed.

' _General?_ '

"H-Huh?" Ness snapped out of his trance. "Oh, um…"

' _Your heartbeat has sped up to an alarming rate._ '

"...Has it…?" Ness breathed, putting a hand over his chest, "...Ninten...you know my full name?"

' _It would seem so, why?_ '

"Ninten, I _forgot_ my full name!" Ness cried, "I haven't heard that last name in years! _Hundreds_ of years! S-Say it again!"

'Wyman?'

" _Wyman…_ " Ness repeated, desperate to keep the word in his muscle memory, "Wyman...yes! Yes, I remember now! That was my dad's family name! How'd you find that?"

' _Well, I only ran a search of information on you through our database, and…_ '

"You can do that?!" Ness exclaimed, capturing the attention of a few passing soldiers, who passed him with worried glances. Ness, embarrassed, only waved. He then repeated in a much quieter voice, " _You can do that?_ "

' _Easily, yes._ '

"Does it have a lot of information on me, or just a little?" Ness asked.

' _Plenty. Let's see…_ ' Ninten took a moment, ' _Here we are. Full name, Ness Dale Wyman. Born in Onett, Eagleland on August 27th 1981 at 6 pounds and 8 ounces. Child of Nancy and Dale Wyman, older brother of-_ '

"Whoawhoawhoa, wait a minute-!" Ness interrupted, his head racing with the information all coming back to him at once. He looked around to make sure no one was watching, "Ninten, I don't think this is allowed! The more memories I have of myself, the more human I am. That's against the rules!"

' _But you just remembered a whole part of your childhood, did you not? This 'other' Ninten?_ ' Ninten asked.

"W-Well, yes, but that's a _secret!_ Technically, I'm not supposed to remember anything. Or, at least, not much." Ness admitted, "I'm pretty sure you're not allowed to show me this kind of stuff! Didn't Dr. Andonuts tell you that?"

' _Not that I know of._ '

Ness recollected his thoughts as he went silent again. He stayed staring at the tiled floors, processing the information on himself that he'd forgotten years ago. The names of his parents had been lost with the rest of his past. Were those really their names, he thought? Along with these thoughts, he was bewildered of Jeff's blatant mistake. Surely, the scientist wouldn't have forgotten to tell Ninten to shut up about past information. There had to be a reason. Fearing the safety of himself and Jeff as well, Ness bit his lip, lowering his voice again.

"Ninten, listen to me. Under no circumstances may you tell anyone about the information you've told me today, understood? If the Master found out that you did this, he would probably uninstall you, destroy your coding, and then he'd go after Dr. Andonuts. Th-That's an order." Ness said, voice still quivering.

'. _..Why, yes, sir. Understood. I was not aware of the stakes at hand._ '

"It's alright, buddy. Just...be careful." Ness said.

' _Do you not want me to share any more on what I found?_ '

"No, I don't wanna risk…" Ness trailed off, realizing that this decision was going to be harder than he thought. He debated a certain choice, before figuring that it couldn't hurt to choose it, "...Actually, one more thing. Just one, then...then I won't ask anymore."

' _Of course, sir. Anything._ '

"Right, um…" Ness took one more glance around, "...What was my sister's name again?"

' _Tracy, sir._ '

"..." Ness silently mouthed the name. That's right, he thought. His heart was eased by the sound. A warm sensation spread to his fingertips. "...Right, now I remember…"

A long while went by with only silence. Ness stayed there, resting against the bar rail, hands clasped in his lap as he stared at his shoes. All he could do was keep repeating the names in his mind. Somehow, he feared that if he didn't, he'd forget again. The names didn't even sound like real names anymore. His own name didn't even sound real anymore. He'd grown so used to being addressed as only 'General', or 'Sir', he'd have a double take when Paula or Jeff referred to him otherwise.

It seemed like hours had passed. With each passing second, Ness had to restrain himself from requesting more information from Ninten. An entire wealth of data was in his grasp, all because Jeff had forgotten to block it in the programming. Ness wondered what would happen if he found out everything. Would he become too human, he thought? Jeff would be put in danger, most definitely. King P hated Ness the most, but Jeff was a close second. The only difference was that Ness needed to suffer; Jeff was allowed to die. If given an excuse to do so, the Lord would kill Jeff without hesitation. Ness swallowed nervously. Had he just cemented his good friend's fate?

And then, of course, there was Ninten. Ness had to admit that the soft spoken voice in his head was growing on him. Something about the slight naivety on certain things was endearing. Not only that, but Ness couldn't help but see Ninten as a person. He had to remind himself that Ninten was a program that had no thoughts, no feelings, no emotions. Perhaps it was the eerily realistic speech, maybe it was the personality, or maybe it was the natural flow of talking. But to Ness, the idea of Ninten being uninstalled was almost like Ninten dying. The thought of losing him was almost as upsetting as losing Jeff. Ness knew it was ridiculous, to have such a deep emotional connection to a robot of all things, but perhaps over three hundred years of loneliness left him desperate for such a connection. Besides, Ninten was more human than he'd ever be.

' _Sir._ '

Ness jumped, slightly startled by Ninten's alert.

"H-Huh? Yes?" He stammered.

' _The expulsion was a success. The small population has been apprehended. You are required at the loading area to perform a routine attendance check._ '

A sick feeling gnawed at Ness' chest. How he hated hearing those words.

"R-Right, thank you." Ness sighed, standing up and straightening his cravat, "And remember, Ninten. Hush up."

' _Hush up? Pardon?_ '

"About the data check. Don't tell anyone."

' _Oh, I see. 'Hush' as in 'quiet'. Understood, thank you, sir. My artificial speech generation decoders are sealed._ '

Ness couldn't help but smirk.

* * *

If there was ever anything worse than his Commander staying completely silent during their missions, not uttering a sound, it was all the bickering.

Whenever a chimera was created, it was inevitable for a bit of personality to eventually develop. It was something Jeff simply couldn't help. Like an advanced AI, the chimera would pick up on the personality traits of others, and learn them in a way. That being said, just like how Ness did many years ago, The Commander began to slip into his own skin. No longer was he simply an expressionless puppet that only viewed aggression and violence as a solution to a minor inconvenience.

Now, not only was he an asshole, but good _lord_ , he was stubborn.

It seemed as if Ness had met his match. Now he understood why Paula got so frustrated with him all the time. If The Commander didn't agree with Ness, then Ness was wrong. It didn't matter if Ness' argument was more logical. His argument did not match his Commander's, so it was incorrect. And if The Commander's solution did not work, instead of trying out Ness' solution, he would build on his own solution until the issue was fixed. And if the issue was not fixed, it was Ness' fault for not trying harder. Ness felt like he wanted to rip out his own hair, but the stress shedding was already taking care of that.

But, at least they were only arguing. Months ago, if Ness didn't agree with his superior, he'd end up with a bloody nose. At least the Second was being _slightly_ more reasonable. And on the other hand, his Second wasn't all too different from himself. Ness also liked to be right. He also liked to have things his way. Now tasting his own medicine, Ness was considering going through a bit of a self change period.

They were back to square one, easing their way through the thick forests surrounding Tazmily. Seeing as their last attempt at finding the first needle had gone horribly wrong, perhaps today was their lucky break.

But while the first mission had been filled with silence and the occasional whisper here and there, this mission was filled with another sound.

"I think we've already gone this way." Ness said.

"No we haven't." replied His Commander.

"I've seen that tree before."

"The forest is filled with trees."

"Yes, but I've seen _that_ tree more than once."

"Perhaps it's another tree that bears a resemblance."

"No, I can recall the shape. See how that top branch is angled just so? It's the same tree, we're going in circles."

"I'd know if we were repeating the same path."

"But I've seen that tree nearly three times now."

"It's a different tree, we're going this way."

"But we've already been this way. Ninten, take a picture of the tree, so that our Commander can see it when we pass it again."

' _Right away, sir._ '

"Cancel that last order," The Commander interrupted, "Do not take a picture of the tree, we don't need it."

' _Understood, thank you, sir._ '

"You can't tell him what to do, Ninten's _my_ assistant!" Ness complained.

"I'm the Commander of this army, and I can do as I please."

"But he was given to _me._ I tell him what to do, not _you._ Ninten, please take a picture of the tree."

' _All finished._ '

"As your superior, I can give orders to anything below my status. Ninten, delete the image."

' _Deleted, sir._ '

"Ninten, don't listen to him! You're my assistant! You are now prohibited from taking orders from him. That's an order." Ness decided.

' _Yes, sir. Understood._ '

"I now order you to ignore what he just said." The Commander added.

' _Of course.'_

"And I now order you to ignore him if he tries to give you an order to ignore what I say!" Ness fired back.

"And I order you to ignore his order to ignore me if I give you an order to ignore him!" The Commander shot back with no hesitation.

'...'

"...Ninten?" Ness asked, voice quiet.

'...'

"...Ninten, everything okay?" He asked again.

' _Your N.I.N.T.E.N has overheated due to information overload. Please stand by for a system reboot._ '

Ness gasped, before angrily turning to his Commander, "You broke him!"

"It's not _broken_ , and I didn't do it!" The Commander replied, "It'll be fine in a few minutes."

" _You_ gave the last order, so-" Ness paused, "Augghh, _nevermind!_ I can't do this anymore! Let's just find this god forsaken needle and be done with it!"

"Oh yes, that tactic worked _so well_ the last time." The Commander rolled his eyes. "We've searched nearly all of Tazmily. I'm starting to think there isn't anything here."

"We haven't checked the village itself." Ness offered.

"Please. If there was a needle there, your soldiers would have rushed to tell us."

"Then I've got nothing. The only place we haven't searched is the Osohe family grounds, and I don't even know if we're allowed over there."

"'Allowed'? Nothing stops us. Once your AI wakes up, tell it to direct us to Osohe Castle."

"...Are you sure?" Ness narrowed his eyes, "Sir, that's a sacred family area."

"Your point being?"

' _Of course he wouldn't care about something like that._ ' Ness thought bitterly, before clearing his throat, "Years ago, the islands were ruled by Queen Senaka and King Osohe, before the Dark Dragon came into the picture. The castle grounds are highly respected; chances are, we'll run into trouble. People still try and protect it to this day."

"I won't let anything stand in my way. Is it awake, yet?" The Commander gestured to Ness' earpiece.

"Should be…" Ness murmured, "Ninten? You okay?"

' _Fit as a fiddle, sir. Please excuse my momentary malfunction.'_

"Oh, think nothing of it. Change of plans, Ninten. Can you make a route to Osohe castle grounds? We're going to search there, if you wouldn't mind."

' _Of course. Calculating_ ,' Ninten said, ' _Right! You'll want to keep heading north._ '

"Well, would you look at that? We were going the _right direction_." The Commander said, as he began to walk again. Ness bit the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from saying anything he'd regret.

The uneasiness set in almost instantly as they continued on their path. Ness made sure to make deep divots in the ground with his heel as he walked, prepared to unleash his evidence upon the Commander if they happened to pass by the area again. However, he eventually forgot about this, as his mind was soon focused on the growing pit in his stomach. The deeper they went into the trees, the more the canopy resembled looming shadows. The clear, pleasant air of the forest grew stuffy. Ness let out a stressed exhale as he glanced around. The rays of the sun no longer felt like serene patches of soothing warmth, rather, they glared down at Ness eerily. He wanted to make an attempt to maneuver his way around the gleams, but his walking had become so mechanic and absent minded at this point, he barely found the will to do so.

He knew that his Commander wasn't doing any better up ahead. The prince had one hand clamped over his other arm, a light blue shimmer rippling from beneath his gloved fingers. PK Freeze, Ness dazedly thought. He was clearly trying to cool down his body, despite the temperature around them having not changed a bit. Ness gazed longingly at the glistening icy crystals swarming around his hand, fractals coating the fabric of his coat. How he wished he could feel that cold. The more he stared, the more disoriented he became. Ness' inner anxieties pushed away the temptation to ease the uncomfortable heat with just one uttering of the Psionic phrase. He wondered if it would work if he tried it. He wondered if his mind would let him. After all, it had been months since that day. Surely, if he just said the incantation, it would work. It was so humid, and Ness had the solution to fix it, right there in his hands.

"..." Ness looked down at his palms. "...P-PK…"

A crackle of ice alerted his attention. As the spark of energy inside his mind doused, Ness perked up just in time to see the frosty aura surrounding the Commander's hand dissolve into thin air. The Commander stopped walking and glanced down, confused. The ice that had built up on his jacket began to rapidly melt. His eyes seemed to glimmer with a bit of alarm. Ness, forgetting his own PSI, took a step forward. The pit in his stomach felt like a sinkhole now. It was as if a chunk of him had been taken away, leaving the rest of him feeling empty. The Commander continued to observe his hands.

"...PK Freeze." He mumbled.

Nothing happened.

" _PK Freeze._ " He repeated. Again, nothing. His eyes looked just as spaced out as Ness felt. The Commander turned to him. "Ask your assistant what's going on. My PSI isn't working. What is going _on_ with the air around here…?"

"I don't think this is something Ninten can help with, sir…" Ness slurred, "Your PSI isn't reacting at all?"

"PK Freeze. PK Fire. _PK Fire._ " The Commander relayed, performing the proper arm and hand stances required, before dropping out of character with an exasperated sigh, "Nothing. You try."

"I...can't, sir. Let's just-"

" _This again?_ " His Commander rolled his eyes, "You're a _military official_ , General. Act like one!"

"With all due respect, I _cannot!_ Please let it go, Your Highness."

"Tch. I should make you show me right now." The Commander said, before looking around again, "But I think...PSI isn't exactly a possibility at the moment."

' _I'm detecting a highly potent electromagnetic field. Your Psionic levels have dropped significantly as a result. It'd be wise to leave the area immediately; I think it may be a tra-_ "

Before Ninten could finish, a sudden barrage of shadowy figures burst from the trees around them. The pair of chimeras barely had any time to react as they were surrounded at all angles by a familiar sight. Ness and his Commander stumbled into each other, now back to back. As the attackers around them each raised a stocked bow, Ness was quick to grab the hilt of his sword, preparing to draw the weapon at a moment's notice. His Commander had different plans, having already drawn his blade from the holster. Ness reached back to touch his arm, reminding him to stay calm, but his hand was shrugged away. In an instant, all movement stopped as the group of around five hooded people stared down the two officials. Ness recognized them instantly; the masked rebels from before. Upon looking into the hollow eye sockets of their masks, he felt a shiver go up his spine.

The only sound was the collective heavy breathing of everyone. Ness' eyes shifted from person to person, trying to pick out who could be the ringleader. His grip tightened on the handle, but he still did not unseathe the weapon. As his gaze trailed down to the forest floor, he spotted something familiar. The attacker standing just ahead of him wore a pair of pink boots under their cape; boots he'd definitely seen before. He realized he was looking back at the same girl who'd attacked them on the previous mission. He prepared to speak, hoping that violence wouldn't have to come into play, but the girl across from him took that opportunity for herself.

"That was almost _too_ easy." She said, her grin visible from under the mask's beak, "You'd think a couple of tough guys would recognize a disabling field."

' _Dammit! How did I miss that?'_ Ness thought to himself, drawing in his lower lip. So that was why the Psionic auras were disengaged.

"You're the little brat from before, aren't you?" The Commander spoke up, looking over his shoulder to spot the mysterious girl, "Just what do you want with us?"

"I'd rather skip the small talk and just jump straight into your capture." She replied, nodding her head to signal her cohorts.

Upon being approached by two of the masked people, The Commander didn't hesitate to take a warning swipe at them, causing them to stumble back a few steps.

"You're foolish if you think you're just going to capture us and be done with it." He snarled, baring his teeth and aiming the blade again.

"Oh no, we definitely knew you would put up a fight. That's why we disabled your PSI." The girl jeered, "You may be strong, but you're nothing without those powers."

"Bold of you to think I rely on PSI." The Commander narrowed his eyes, "I wield this sword with the skill of a thousand masters."

"Do you, now?" Sneered the girl, "What if I told you a little secret? What if I mentioned that while you all were distracted by a raid on a town earlier, we managed to get a little closer to your homebase, eh?"

"What're you suggesting?" Ness finally piped up, his nerves now getting the better of him.

"See this little doohickie on my wrist right here?" The girl lifted her arm and pulled back a blue sleeve to expose an odd device clamped around her wrist, bearing a series of buttons and dials, "This thing can control a lot of things. You wanna know what happens if I press this little red button right here?"

"Oh, _do_ tell." The Commander murmured.

"Right now, at the ground of your mini-base near the edge of the forest, there is a small explosive. The minute I press this button, _kaboom_. I should also mention the lighter fluid drenched around the place." The girl proudly declared, "If you want a good majority of the soldiers there to die, then be my guest and try to escape right now."

"That's all you've got? Go on, press that button." The Commander said, "We've an entire population of soldiers, losing fifty _won't be an issue._ "

" _Sir!"_ Ness whispered through his teeth.

"Not an issue, you say? Your General seems to disagree." The girl said.

"Oh, trust me, this one's gone soft." The Commander jerked his head towards Ness, "He's always been the more emotional sort. Lucky for you, I'm not on the same level of giving a damn. So go ahead and press the button."

"Don't!" Ness exclaimed, "Those are human beings!"

"They're human beings who have destroyed our homes, taken us from our families, and have tried to change our way of life!" The girl snapped back, "You goddamn Maskies are gonna realize soon enough that we won't back down so easily."

"Well, it's not happening here. Must I repeat myself?" The Commander said, voice dark, "Leave us be, or suffer the consequences."

"..." The girl paused, seemingly pondering to herself. Ness watched her intently, trying to pick up on any signs of what she would do next. Strangely, she reached back to return her arrow to its holster, before securing her bow back into its place. Hands now free, she placed them on her hips, leaning her weight to one side, "...You're not giving in so quickly, hm?"

"Try me." The Commander growled.

The girl smirked.

"Gladly".

Before anyone could even blink, the girl launched herself forwards, fastening an iron grip on Ness' arms. Ness gasped, unable to process what was happening quick enough. Before he could try and wrangle away, the girl pulled him close and kept him pinned there. Ness clawed at her arms to free himself, and seemed to be successful at first. However, once he broke away from one of her hands, he felt the static in the air rise. The girl clamped her hand over the front of his neck and squeezed tightly.

" _PK Thunder!_ "

A sharp stab of electricity ripped through Ness' body as the girl unleashed an astonishing amount of energy. Ness grit his teeth as each muscle was wrung by the attack, and couldn't stifle a pained shriek as the inside of his body writhed from the intense shock. His throat had suffered the worst of it, as his airway was now refusing to work. As Ness began to choke and thrash, desperate to breathe again, the girl stared ahead, stone faced at the barely phased Commander. She fastened her hand around Ness' neck again, tiny sparks of electricity beginning to flash around her fingers as she prepared to strike again.

"This is your last warning." The girl threatened, voice quivering from the strain of the attack.

"Just what do you plan on doing if I refuse?" The Commander asked, his voice just as calm as it'd been before.

The girl tightened her grip on Ness, who was still trying to escape, but with less strength to do so.

"I kill your General." She spat.

Ness, chest heaving with each weak breath he took, managed to crack open one eye to stare back at his superior. He found no comfort within the cold gaze he received back. This was it, he decided. He was going to die, only to be forcefully revived into an even emptier shell. All the memories and precious dreams he'd had would disappear forever. Ness let himself fall limp. There was no point anyways. His own, single death was better than an entire sub-base of soldiers. He closed his eyes and waited for his circuits to be fried at the instant.

Then, Ness heard two words he wouldn't have expected in a million years, or more.

"...Very well."

As the force on his neck loosened slightly, Ness opened his eyes again. His brow was knitted just barely as he looked to his Commander again, who proceeded to sheathe his weapon and raise his hands. His face was just as neutral as ever. He did not return Ness' stare. Behind him, two of the masked figures grabbed hold of one arm each, pinning them behind his back and keeping them there with barely any force. The Commander didn't even flinch as he was apprehended. Ness watched in disbelief as he was given the same treatment, being held by the girl herself.

"Good choice." She said, "Right, then. Our work here is done. Let's move out."

Still unable to grasp what had just happened, Ness silently obeyed and walked along with his attacker. The entire time, his Commander stared straight ahead, not a single muscle upon his face moving in the slightest.

* * *

Ness wasn't sure where he'd been taken. Shortly after the two chimeras were apprehended, the powerful lightning blast had taken its toll on him, and he drifted out of consciousness. While Ness' body could withstand plenty of blows and force, electricity was not his friend, considering the majority of his body was enhanced by technological means. The first thing running through his head when he woke up again was knowing that he'd have to see Jeff about fixing him up, that is, if he even got the chance to again.

When Ness' eyes finally fluttered open, he winced at how tight and cramped his body felt. Each movement felt like he was submerged in mud. He could feel the light stinging here and there where the wires inside of him had been struck. As he struggled to even prop himself up, he delved immediately into his own thoughts. Ness couldn't remember the last time he'd been knocked out. For a Psionic attack to do so, the amount of energy needed would be astonishing. Whoever this strange girl in the blue dress was, she must've been incredibly powerful.

As he shakily managed to lift himself up onto his elbows, Ness' vision cleared, and he saw that he'd been placed over a dusty wooden floor. He then glanced around, seeing that he was surrounded by equally dusty walls. As dim as the light was, Ness put together that he'd been taken into a shed or cabin of some sort. Through the one window he could spot, Ness saw that the sky had already darkened. Clenching his jaw, he forced himself to sit up.

Suddenly, outlined from the dim outside light, Ness was faced with the shape of another person.

"Ah-!" He gasped, scooting back a few paces. Almost as instantly as he'd spotted him, Ness realized who he was looking at, "C-Commander! Sir! You frightened me," He composed himself quickly and squinted to try and get a better look at him, "Sir? That _is_ you, isn't it?"

"'Tis."

Ness breathed a relieved sigh upon hearing his Commander's usual deadpan tone. He looked around again.

"Where are we?" Ness asked, as he got to his feet and wandered about the area,

"Their little makeshift prison." The Commander replied, "Some shed out in the woods."

"This rickety old thing? A prison?" Ness pushed a hand against one of the wooden planks lining the walls. It creaked and shifted under his touch. He could demolish the thing in seconds. "They actually expect this to keep us hostage? We could break it apart and escape easily." He paused, and turned to his Commander with a knitted brow, "Come to think of it, why haven't you done so yet, sir?"

"..." The Commander paused, "No particular reason."

"But it looks so simple, sir." Ness pointed out, "It's night. You could have broken out hours ago."

" _Leave it_ , General." His superior urged with more force in his voice.

Ness went silent, continuing to prod at the wooden walls. He peeked over his shoulder to see him again, sitting upon a wooden box. He craved to bring up a certain idea that crossed his mind seconds ago. Ness hesitated just a bit, before opening his mouth to speak again.

"Did you not want to leave me alone here?" Ness asked.

" _Of course not_ , I think I've made it clear that I couldn't care _less_ about what happens to you." The Commander harshly replied, spitting nearly every word, "Keeping the preferences of our King in mind, I'm sure he'd be displeased if I returned without his prized General. Though, I can't see why he favours you so."

"It's a long story, but just accept that it's gonna be _years_ before that guy is willing to let me go." Ness muttered, "But with that out of the way, I'm awake now. Hurry, let's get out of here. We just need to total this thing, and then we can make a run for it."

"Hold still; not yet." The Commander said, "Is your AI awake?"

"Oh! I forgot about Ninten! Are you up?" Ness asked.

' _Aye, sir. F-f-forgive me, I seem to have suffered a great d-d-deal of damage._ ' Ninten's voice was cracked and glitchy. Ness winced. The blast of thunder couldn't have been healthy for the AI.

"Can you function? Pinpoint our location, perhaps?" The Commander asked.

' _I'm sorry, sir, I cannot. My GPS system f-f-fails to respond. I have already started a full reboot; p-p-please allow me to repair myself to avoid further malfunction. I will alert you when I've finished. For the time being, I cannot access functions that require me to use roaming.'_

The Second gave a quick, disgruntled sigh, "So be it. Until it is repaired, we cannot leave. We are in the middle of a location we don't know our way around, and without a way of navigation, we are at a disadvantage."

"Didn't you track your way as they brought us here?" Ness asked.

"No, I was blindfolded after you blacked out. But, I do know that we traveled for quite a long time. We're miles from homebase, dare I say, we're on another segment of the island. That being said, it would be foolish to try and find our way back, while persecuted by powerful enemies who know this place well."

"We can't just stay here! Sir, Ninten's code is incredibly complex, it could take _hours_ for him to reload."

"Then we shall wait."

"Who _knows_ what they could do to us if we don't get out?"

"Don't tell me you _fear_ them." The Second narrowed his eyes, "That girl may be powerful, but she does not hold a candle to you or I. They won't try anything."

' _Wow. He's actually analyzing the situation with logic, and not launching headfirst into danger. Someone's learning._ ' Ness thought, "Right, yes. Fine. We'll stay here until Ninten is repaired, and then we'll take off."

"Just so." Replied his Commander, who then went silent.

The small shed was silent for a long while. The only sound was distant murmuring from outside, passed between hushed voices. Ness leaned back against the wall and hugged his knees to his chest. His eyes needed rest.

He looked to his Commander again.

"...Sir?"

"What now?"

"Um…" Ness hesitated, "Why did you...surrender?"

The Commander paused.

"...T'was all part of the plan."

"What plan?"

"To trick them into thinking we were weaker, of course. Then, they'd be caught off guard when we fought back with our full force."

"But I don't see the point. You had full capability of escaping. Like you said, they don't even come close to your level of power. Couldn't you just fend them off with a plume of PK Fire and take off?"

"You dare talk back like that?"

"I didn't mean to disrespect you, I just...can't seem to understand the reasoning."

"Well, perhaps you just _had_ to go get yourself severely electrocuted, and lord knows you weren't in any shape to fight. I rest my case; our Master would be displeased with me if I returned without you."

Ness blinked, surprised, before giving a small grin, "Oh, I see. You _care_ too much to let me die."

"Nonsense!" His Commander immediately snapped back, "Your safety is the concern of the king's! That's that."

"So you couldn't give less of a shit about me?" Ness jeered.

"Aye."

"But...you surrendered to a rebellion just to assure my safety?"

"For the benefit of the Lord!"

"And you waited here, in the dark, for _hours_ , until I woke up? Because the importance of my safe return is so important?"

"Cease this! I don't want to hear your voice any longer, it intrudes on my...rest."

Ness perked, "Rest?"

"...Y-Yes." The uncertainty in The Commander's voice wavered, "It is night, after all. 'Tis my duty to remain well rested and serve my directive. If you wouldn't mind, I would like to have some silence."

"Do you want this?" Ness reached into his inside pocket and retrieved a small device bearing a USB plug.

"What?"

"Dr. Andonuts fashioned it for me; it's a sleeping unit that you can take with you. It's for when we need to sleep while travelling. You can use it, if you're tired." Ness offered.

"I am not _tired_ , I am simply being responsible," The Commander swiped the small cartridge without a second thought, "Ah, tempting. Now I can have a few hours where I don't have to deal with you."

"So it seems, sir. I will be sure to wake you if circumstances call for it." Ness assured.

His Commander didn't answer. He simply positioned himself against the wall and reached behind to click the cable into place. He crossed his arms and kept his eyes directed at the floor as he waited for the machine to slow his functioning. The rising and falling of his chest got slower. His breathing fell quiet, and finally, his eyelids drifted closed. Ness waited a few more minutes, before concluding that his superior was now in a steady sleep. He clutched his knees closer to himself and rested back. He observed his Commander's position, which was rather poised, despite him being asleep.

Ness couldn't help but indulge himself in an odd thought. The Second in Command looked much different when asleep. Ness couldn't quite put a finger on it, but observing him just sitting there, he concluded that his Commander looked normal. That was it, yes. He looked so normal; normal in a way that Ness hadn't noticed before. Perhaps it was because his back wasn't kept unhealthily upright. His Commander looked normal, almost human, in a way. Ness' mind began to delve into places he hadn't been in a long time. He recalled a time when The Second was graced with suntanned skin and wavy, healthy red hair. Back when his cheekbones weren't terribly visible, and his body wasn't sickeningly thin. Ness' curiosity brimmed over the edge as he leaned over and gently brushed away a stray lock of hair from his Commander's face. He wished he had some sort of light source. His desire to see his face was almost a craving.

The sudden need to see better sent a familiar wave of energy down Ness' arms and fingers. Brow furrowed, he looked down at his hands and slowly began to remove the white gloves covering them. Now looking at his own pale, scar covered palms, he tried to focus on the energy that had just passed through him. A spark ignited within his mind; a spark he hadn't dared to see since the last Commander had died. Upon clenching the muscles in his hand, he felt the sensation of heat simmering over his skin. Ness grit his teeth, his mind maliciously taking him back many months earlier, reminding him of the reasons he'd abandoned his Psionic expertise. Squeezing his eyes shut against the painful memories, he took a deep breath and concentrated his aura into the palm of his hand. The spark was there, he knew it. He'd felt it back in the forest, when wanting to combat the uncomfortable heat. Ness realized that his own mind was trying to stop him. He was definitely out of practice, he thought. Just a little rusty.

"...PK…" He murmured. The trigger word sent a ripple through his aura, a nostalgic feeling that he'd almost missed, "...PK Fire…?"

Nothing happened. The reaction was there, he knew it was. He could clearly feel the heat building in his hand. He repeated himself, this time with more certainty.

"PK Fire."

It didn't appear at first; but after a few seconds, a flickering blue shape began to ebb over his palm. Ness gasped quietly, amazed that it had actually worked. As he latched his aura onto the small flame and concentrated on keeping it alive, the blue eventually turned crimson, and before he knew it, it turned into a blossom. Ness blinked, astonished.

"I-It worked…!" He whispered to himself, "Yay me, I guess…"

Now content with his satisfactory incantation, he observed his Commander again, who still lay sleeping against the wall. Ness' heart sped up. He once again recalled that unavoidable sense of normality he exuded. How odd, he thought. It must've been how relaxed his face was. Now that it wasn't kept frozen in a deadpan glare, the Commander looked just like any other person. Ness noticed little things he hadn't seen before. Over the bridge of his nose were faint, barely noticeable freckles. Did he always have those, he thought? Were his eyelashes always the same hue of his hair? Even things like the stray strands of his eyebrows confused Ness. How human he seemed, now that he was asleep. Ness wondered if he looked that normal when he slept.

Just as suddenly as it appeared, the fire resting in Ness' hand was doused. He sighed in frustration. At least he'd actually been able to summon it in the first place. He tried again for the hell of it; nothing. The spark was gone. His mental scars refused to let it happen again. Ness clicked his teeth and leaned back in his place. As he sat there, milling over the hundreds of thoughts that taunted him, he perked up with a sudden thought.

"Ninten." He spoke, nearly whispering.

' _Yes, sir_.'

"You said you can't use your roaming function?" Ness asked.

' _Not for another few hours, sir_.'

"How about information already previously downloaded? Identity data?"

' _You asked me to refrain from giving such information, sir._ '

"I-I _know_ , I know, I just…" Ness sighed, "...Can I order you to break that rule one more time?"

' _What do you need to know?_ ' Ninten asked.

Something about the uncannily realistic sense of uncertainty in Ninten's voice made Ness hesitate. God dammit, Jeff, he thought. As much as he'd grown attached to Ninten, that voice of his was just too creepy sometimes. Ness bit his lip. He's a robot, he told himself. Stop worrying about what he's going to think. Over and over, Ness reminded himself. Ninten was not a human being, and his feelings were only code. Just a bunch of ones and zeros, he assured. Ignoring the pins and needles prickling into his skin, Ness' eyes shifted back to his Commander. He looked him up and down again, before resting his gaze back to the floor.

"...Tell me his name." He murmured.

Ninten didn't answer at first.

' _...Are you sure you want to know that?_ '

Ness swallowed nervously, "Y-Yes."

A few moments went by with only silence. Ness wasn't sure if Ninten was processing, or if he was stalling to answer. He heard the soft whirring of nearly microscopic machinery within the earpiece he wore. Ness bit his lip nearly to the point of drawing blood. He was so distracted by his own uneasiness, he'd nearly missed it when Ninten answered.

' _Claus._ '

Ness paused.

"...'Claus', you said?"

' _Just so. T'was a preferred name; the one he was known by with friends and family._ '

"Well, what was his real name?"

' _General..._ ' Ninten warned.

"It's fine, it's fine! It's not a big deal, just...what is it?" Ness repeated.

'. _..Right, then. His birth name was 'Niclaus', which was his late uncle's name._ ' Ninten answered, ' _Says that his twin brother couldn't pronounce it correctly when they were just beginning to speak, and it would always come out as 'Claus' instead. The name stuck like that._ '

"How'd you know that?" Ness asked.

' _Memories are helpful for information, not just birth certificates and the like. I retrieve this information when memories are extracted from the mind and compiled into complex coding.'_

"Fascinating…" Ness trailed off, eyeing his Commander again, "Claus. Now I see it. He looks like a Claus, doesn't he?"

' _I am an artificial being, I cannot draw such conclusions. I will take your word for it._ '

"Right, right." Ness said, "And you said he had a brother?"

' _Yes, but perhaps it is not wise for me to elaborate-_ '

"What was his brother's name?"

' _...Lucas, sir._ '

"Were they those creepy kinds of twins who look the same, or did they look a little different?"

' _They were identical. Claus was the elder twin, just five minutes older._ '

"Really! So there's some kid out there who looks just like our good old Commander, huh?" Ness said, "Where'd he live before all this?"

' _I suggest I keep that classified._ ' Ninten replied.

"Ninten, come on, it's fine." Ness assured.

' _Sir, with all due respect, I'm afraid such information may cause you distress_.'

"Oh? And how so?"

' _I need not explain myself._ '

"I halfway wish Dr. Andonuts didn't make you as advanced as you are. The fact that you have the _ability_ to disobey is...frightening." Ness calmly said, leaning his chin in his palm.

' _I disobey for your own good._ ' Ninten declared, ' _Your mental state is not at its best, and-_ '

"I've gone over 300 years with a fucked up head, okay? I'm fine." Ness argued.

' _I don't understand why it is so important you know._ '

"I don't understand why you're suddenly so defiant."

Ninten once again went silent. Ness once again considered his reasoning. Perhaps the AI had decided to ignore him. Ness crossed his arms with a huff. Dumb robot, he thought. I couldn't have been that big of a deal.

But when Ninten broke the silence by answering, Ness immediately wished he'd never asked in the first place.

'. _..Tazmily._ '

Ness' heart dropped.

"...W-what…?"

' _Before being apprehended into the corps, Claus was born and raised in Tazmily Village. His family resided at a sheep farm within the village. Barely three days after the fire that was started by your mission team, he was found dead at the bottom of a cliff, where he was then promptly taken to homebase.'_ Ninten explained, speaking quickly and fluidly, as if reading words off of paper.

Ness didn't take his eyes off the ground as he listened to every word. He could just barely see the tips of the Commander's boots. Images of his battered and bruised body flashed back into his head. Ness had met Claus, he realized. Only for a few moments, but they had locked eyes. Ness would never forget those frightened green eyes. He latched his hands onto his arms and took in a tentative breath.

" _...Did he jump off on purpose?_ " Ness asked, voice airy.

' _Oh, no no no. Do you recall seeing the claw and teeth marks covering his body? That was the work of a drago; one of our laboratory ones. Chances are, the poor boy was purposefully pushed by the animal, or he tripped._ '

"B-But what on Earth was he doing with one of our dragos?"

' _...Do you remember the case of the unknown woman's body we discovered near Tazmily?_ '

"Yes, of course. They found a mangled corpse, wearing the same red cloth that we found lodged within our drago's fangs, and…" Ness went silent. As he began to put two and two together, the hole in his heart grew bigger, and his skin lost even more colour than he already had. He opened his mouth to speak, only just barely able to make a sound, "...Oh no."

' _Sir-_ '

"Ninten, was that…" Ness paused, "...W-Was that his mother?"

' _...Unfortunately, but-_ '

"I killed her!" Ness gasped in dismay, "His mom died because of me! I was the one to send that fleet of soldiers! If I had just waited another day, then…!"

' _Now, sir, let's not get too ahead of ourselves._ '

"Ninten, you don't understand! If I hadn't sent them, the fire wouldn't have been set! Our dragos wouldn't have escaped from their pens! This woman wouldn't have been killed, and her son wouldn't have tried to avenge her!" Ness cried, "I-I killed her!"

Before Ninten could respond, three loud bangs across the wooden walls sounded, catching Ness off guard.

"Is someone _dying_ in there, or what? _Shut up_ , why don't you?"

"N-No! Hold on just one minute-!" Ness quickly got to his feet upon recognizing the voice of the strange girl. He pressed himself against the feeble wall, "Listen, and listen close. Can I get a name? Something I can call you?"

"Eh? My name…?"

"Any name! It doesn't have to be your real one!"

"Um…" She trailed off, considering the idea of her captive possibly losing his mind, "...Kuma."

"Kuma? Right, okay. Listen, Kuma," Ness said, patting the wall for emphasis, "I need out. Both of us; we need out."

"Oh, do you, now? Interesting." Kuma sneered, the roll of her eyes nearly audible.

"No, you don't understand! P-Please…" Ness begged, "I swore to protect him under any circumstances! Surely, we can think of something! Let me take him back to our homebase, then you can do whatever you want with me!"

"Tempting, but he's more dangerous than you." Kuma replied.

" _You don't get it_...god dammit! Listen, come closer. I need to whisper." Ness said, before lowering his voice to a hushed whisper, " _Can you hear me?_ "

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here." Kuma whispered back, "What the hell do you need?"

"I'm just gonna go ahead and say it, but you can't tell anyone. This is between you and me, got it?" Ness ordered.

"...Depends on what it is."

Ness sighed, "Fair enough. But…" He looked around, making sure his Commander was still fast asleep, before murmuring in the quietest voice he could muster, "I'm on your side."

"...Come again?"

"Consider me a part of this rebellion. My name is Ness Wyman, I've been kept captive in this army for over three centuries." Ness said.

Kuma paused for several moments, ".. _.Kept captive?_ People say you turned your back on us. The Defeater of Giygas himself betrayed the people he once protected."

"No, I'm kept in this army against my will! I cannot escape because of many reasons I can't get into right now, but know that I am _not_ a willing participant." Ness promised, "I am on your side, Kuma. I want to stop his reign as much as you do."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Kuma asked.

"...I-I'm not sure. I have no way to prove it." Ness admitted, "...You'll just have to trust me."

A long period of silence. Ness could tell Kuma was still there by the sound of her breathing. He waited patiently, crossing his fingers the entire time. He couldn't blame her if she denied him. But Ness prayed to a god he'd stopped believing in years ago, hoping that she would hear the desperation in his voice. He bit his lip upon hearing Kuma sigh.

" _I must be out of my mind._ " Kuma muttered to herself, "Alright. What do you need?"

Ness felt as if he could cry, if it had been physically possible, "R-Right! Listen, I don't agree with anything the Livestock King says. But I take my job as the General very seriously. My purpose is to protect one specific person, no matter what."

"Your Commander? If you disagree so much, why not let the little pest die?"

"Because…! Well, call me crazy, but I care about him."

"You're crazy."

"I deserved that." Ness agreed, "But take this from _Ness_ , not from the General. Please, let him go."

"He's _dangerous_." Kuma growled.

"I know, I know! But…" Ness got an idea, "I won't let him do anything. I can't stop everything; the raids, the experiments, those are out of my control. But I can do my best. Just...please, let me take him back to homebase. Let me keep him safe."

"And why should I let go of a successor to a _dictator?_ " Kuma challenged.

"Because he's just like me." Ness said, "He's just a kid. I won't go into who he was, but...he's a child. If this...I-I mean, _when_ this resistance wins, I can put him back to normal. Plain and simple. But for now, I can try to lower some of the damage."

Kuma went quiet again, before clicking her teeth, "...What do we get in return?"

"Well, for starters, you have a resistance member who works directly in the army. I have access to stuff no one else here does. I have access to the plans, the technology, and everything else. Do you really wanna pass that up?" Ness asked.

"Tempting, tempting. It sure would be helpful. Do you have access to the basement level?"

"...The basement? Well, I'm not really allowed to go down there…" Ness admitted, thinking back to the ominously taped off basement floor to the headquarters. He'd passed it many times, but Jeff had made it very clear that he was not welcome down there. Out of respect for his friend, Ness stifled his longing and kept away. "What's even down there?"

"I'm not entirely sure either, but we've heard about how not even employees are let down there. It must be big. It must be important."

"Well, I can't go down there," Ness sighed, "But, I have a friend who can. So, yes. Do we have a deal?"

"Whoa, whoa, hold on. What else can you do? I want my deal's worth." Kuma said.

"Um…" Ness thought hard. An idea popped into his head. A risky one, but an idea nonetheless, "I can take refugees."

"...Explain."

"Every so often, we'll directly place an attack on a village or a larger town. It takes about an hour and a hundred soldiers to take the whole place captive. What if I told you I could sneak people out before they're captured?" Ness offered.

"You can do that?" Kuma asked.

"I can't save everyone, but I can do my best. Trust me, raids are chaos. There's fire and crowds, I'll go unnoticed. I'll disguise myself and help as many people as possible escape." Ness decided.

"Where will they go?"

"I'm not sure," Ness answered, "That's where you come in. I'll give you the raid information, so you know when to meet me. I'll take them into the forest, where you can come pick them up and take them somewhere. Do you have any ideas?"

"I...think I have a few places, yes." Kuma considered, "How will you get the info to me?"

"Easy. Messenger pigeon." Ness assured, "That's all I can offer. Deal?"

"Head to the door."

Victorious, Ness quickly rushed to the locked door, which was already being opened. The door gave way to the outside world, giving Ness a rush of cold, fresh air. His eyes took a moment to process what he was looking at, but he found himself face to face with none other than Kuma. Her mask was gone, revealing her sharp green eyes and thin face. Ness swallowed nervously. She looked like a girl he didn't want to mess with.

"So?" He asked.

Kuma had already retrieved a small knife from her pocket. Ness froze, wondering if it was an attack, but was surprised to see her press the blade into her own palm and make a small cut. She barely even flinched at the wound, and watched a small amount of blood begin to pool. She then tossed the dagger to Ness, looking at him expectantly.

"O-Oh, right, okay," Ness nodded. Just like her, he was barely phased by the blade slicing his skin. He noticed the dark, unhealthy hue of his own blood. He reached over to shake her hand, but Kuma pulled back.

"I am putting every ounce of trust in my body into you right now." She warned, "Betray us, and you'll be sorry."

"I assure you, I am not lying." Ness promised.

"When's the next raid?" Kuma asked.

"Next week. Southern district of the islands." Ness explained, "I'm fuzzy on the exact details. Expect a pigeon to come here before then."

"Right." Kuma hesitated one more moment, "...Oh, what the hell. Taking risks is part of life, I guess."

With that, she gripped Ness' hand, allowing the blood pact to seal. She squeezed to emphasize her previous warning. Ness squeezed back with more force, prompting Kumatora to flinch with a small laugh.

"Wow. Strong, for a skinny little fella." Kuma pointed out, drawing her hand away and wiping her palm on her pant leg, "Alright. Where's that prick?"

Realizing she must have been talking about the Commander, Ness motioned for her to wait and rushed back into the shed. Wondering how he was going to do this, he gently inched one hand under his back and one under his legs. Ness easily lifted him. To his relief, his Commander showed no signs of stirring. The sleeping device was doing its job well. Satisfied in his position, Ness held him close and returned outside. Kuma eyed the two, raising a brow.

"Oh. I didn't realize you two were…like _that._ " She commented.

"Huh?" Ness perked up, before gasping, "Oh, nonono! No, we're not-! He isn't-! W-We aren't-!"

"Alright, alright, calm down. You'll wake him up, and I don't wanna die tonight."

"Unlikely he will. You wanna know how fucked up it is to work with the army? We have little devices we plug into our necks that keep us asleep. Our bodies are so far from functioning normally, our brains don't even know how to fall asleep naturally." Ness explained.

"...I never thought I'd say this, but dear lord, I feel sorry for you. Come on, this way." Kuma jerked her head to the side.

"Bless you…" Ness whispered as he followed her into the trees surrounding them.

His heartbeat returned to a normal speed. Briskly, the two rushed into the forest, narrowly avoiding the few other resistance members that wavered around them. Ness kept his Commander close to him as he followed Kuma. He'd nearly forgotten that Ninten was there too, until the AI spoke up.

' _Sir, forgive me, but I fail to see how this benefits the mission._ ' Ninten said.

"That's the point, Ninten." Ness said as he jogged, "You can't tell anyone."

' _We are betraying the king?_ ' Ninten asked.

"That's right. But it's for the good of humanity. We'll be saving so many lives, Ninten."

' _Are we doing the right thing?_ '

"Absolutely." Ness confirmed.

' _...Just like the Ninten I was named after?_ '

"Yeah, sorta. Except I'm breaking a few rules. I'm rebelling, but for a good cause."

Ninten paused.

' _...Then I want to rebel too._ '

"Yeah?"

' _Yes. I want to help the people_.'

"Then, Death to the Livestock King, buddy." Ness said, each word tasting like the sweetest of sugar to say.

' _Death to the Livestock King._ '

* * *

Paula noticed the change in Ness the minute she saw him. She'd heard rumors of his and the Commander's capture, but their daring escape hours later. Paula instantly knew that something else entirely had happened. As she sat upon her cot, watching him tend to a deep cut on his hand, she kept her chin in her palm, watching intently to try and decipher his behavior. Her eyes trailed to his furrowed brow and drawn-in lip.

"...You okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine." Ness replied.

"No you're not."

You're right."

Ness sighed and let his hands fall. He leaned over onto his elbows and rubbed his eyes. Paula tipped her head to the side, concerned. This was different from Ness' usual 'I'm miserable' demeanor. She got up and shuffled to his bed, settling herself next to him. She noticed his downcast eyes. She simply rested a hand over his leg.

"You've gone quiet." Paula commented, "Usually, it's hard enough getting you to shut up."

Ness tried to stay stone faced, but gave a small, stifled laugh, "Quiet, you say?"

"Yeah. Like, silent." Paula said, "C'mon, Ness. What happened? And don't tell me it's because you were captured. You've been captured plenty of times before, and turn out fine each time. Something else happened."

"I know I tell you everything, but…" Ness hesitated, "Paula, I'm digging too deep. If I'm gonna tell you, you need to promise you'll keep your mouth shut."

"...Oh god, Ness. What did you do?" Paula murmured, eyes alarmed.

"I…" Ness searched the room, as if someone else were around, "...I...learned things I shouldn't have learned. About The Second."

"Like…?"

"His name. I know his name."

"Ah. Well, that's not too bad, is it?"

"I went farther. I learned about his family, his life…"

Paula quietly gasped, "Ness! That's dangerous! Damn right, you're digging too deep!"

"I-I _know_ , but I couldn't stop! I was more fascinated by _his_ life than my own, and…"

"How are you even learning these things?"

Ness quickly realized his mistake. He struggled to come up with some sort of fib, anything that would help him brush her off. But upon meeting Paula's stern gaze, he knew there was no way out of it. The Lieutenant would figure him out in a second. Ness bit his finger and looked away.

"I can't tell you." He said.

Paula opened her mouth to argue, but no words came out. She pressed her lips into a thin line, frustrated, but turned away, much to Ness' relief.

"God dammit, Ness." She muttered.

"I know." Ness replied.

By the time the lights had been turned out, Ness was still staring at the ceiling. He wanted to plug himself in and get some sleep, but each time he considered it, his mind kept taking him back to new places. All he could think about was the adrenaline coursing through him. He'd forgotten how great some good old fashioned anarchy felt. Three hundred years he'd gone in captivity, and now, he was finally doing something about it. But then, that only reminded him of something else; Ninten. How sincere the AI had been back in the forest. Ness found himself unsettled by Ninten's ability to disobey. How could an artificial being programmed to do exactly what he said do such a thing? Surely, Jeff hadn't given him such an ability. Shivers went up Ness' entire body.

Even more unsettling was Ninten's apparent morality. Was it even possible for an AI to have such a thing? Was it possible for an AI to debate right and wrong? There was only so much robotics could do, even at Jeff's standards. Surely, the scientist had his limits. Ness had met plenty of artificial people before, but not once had he seen something like this. He turned over onto his side, closing his eyes in an attempt to rest them.

 _'I gotta plug myself in._ ' He thought.

But before he could do so, Ness fell asleep.

* * *

July 7th, 1988. That was the nice summer day that Ness marked on his Calendar. It was just a messy red circle drawn in sharpie, but it was the most important red circle he'd ever was the day that a new schoolhouse near the east end of Onett was to be opened. Ness couldn't care less about the building itself. Being seven years old, school was still pretty lame. But what mattered was the name associated with it; the person it had been built in honour of.

It had been four years since the Giegue scare. People called it the Fright of '84. It was a period of fear and dread among the human population. Ness would forever remember his Mother's tales of hiding in the basement for days on end, clutching a three-year-old Ness close to her chest and staying there. No one would've guessed that the saviour to defeat a literal alien attack was, not the police, not the military, but a few kids just short of being teenagers. Lloyd, who'd been the youngest, eventually pursued studies in extraterrestrial science. Ana, the oldest, proceeded to find success with her family's church. But of course, while those two were respected, their names didn't even hold a candle to the one that everyone really remembered; and that was Ninten.

He needed no last name. While the previous two weren't big fans of public attention, Ninten was nearly worshipped. Now sixteen years old, the Psionic prodigy practically ruled the world with his astonishing abilities in PSI and his hypnotizing singing. His Psionic talents and feats landed him in the list of the most influential Psychic figures in history. While he'd started on the list at #8 out of ten people, he eventually began to work his way up as he continued to amaze the crowds. Finally, just earlier that year, he'd finally landed in that #1 spot. Truly where he belonged, Ness had decided.

Ness wasn't shy about his admiration for the celebrity. He owned every album, watched every one of his lectures on PSI over television, and even insisted that he have his hair styled in the exact same way. He'd spent an entire day searching every department store in Onett, trying to find a shirt bearing the now famous red, white, and blue stripes that Ninten was so well known for. Of course, the closest he was able to find was a pattern of blue and yellow, but they were stripes, so that was close enough. He'd tried to find the hat too, that one hat Ninten always wore with the red cap and the blue lid, but he ended up with a hat with those colours simply inverted. At least it was blue and red. He'd even taken the time to sit in his backyard for hours on end, staring at his hands, waiting for fire to come out of them. He was going to be a psychic too, he decided. Oh yes, Ness absolutely adored him. So when he discovered that Ninten had taken interest in Onett, the young boy was left buzzing.

It turned out that Ninten was a huge sponsor in the renovation of Onett's only school building. The psychic insisted that he would stop by to get a good look at it, now that it had been finished. That being said, when that day came, Ness made sure to be downtown at all times, proudly wearing his striped shirt and hat. Ness rushed through the city streets as fast as his legs could carry him, narrowly dodging the other citizens in the slowly gathering crowds. All he wanted was to see him. He had no intentions on actually meeting Ninten, as Ness knew what disasters would occur. He would stammer, then he would probably cry, then he would pass out. And Ninten would think he was a total loser. So, Ness only wanted to catch a glimpse of him. Meeting him could come another day.

That was, of course, until he ran right into him.

Ness hadn't seen him at first. He'd made a sharp turn, and found himself colliding into someone. The taller person managed to keep their ground, but Ness stumbled back and ended up on the ground. Ness opened his mouth to apologize, but the second he realized who he'd run into, his vocal chords were useless. He instantly recognized Ninten's face and the striped shirt. Ninten glanced back down at him, his eyes concerned.

"Oh geez, sorry, kid!" He gasped, bending down slightly and holding out a hand, "You alright?"

Ness only stared back up in starstruck amazement. His eyes met Ninten's, and a shiver ran through him. He looked just like he did on TV. He was taller than Ness had expected. Ness struggled to come up with words, but just as he feared, he just couldn't manage. Ninten's brow slightly furrowed, confused by the child's odd behaviour, but then quickly realized what was going on. He gave a small smile and inched his hand closer.

"Hey, I don't bite. Lemme help you up." Ninten offered.

"U-Um…!" Ness suddenly managed to find his voice, "Sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry, I…!"

"Whoa, hey, slow down!" Ninten eased, "I'm not the one who just took a tumble. Come on, upsie daisie."

Ness was quickly helped up as Ninten took both of his hands and pulled him up to his feet. He saw that behind Ninten was a collection of sharply dressed adults, most likely his management team. Ness shrunk back into himself, prepared for his inevitable jail sentence. He once again caught Ninten's gaze, and the older boy gave a small laugh.

"Say, you look like me." He commented, gesturing to Ness' attire.

"H-Huh?" Ness stammered, "Oh, yeah, um...I couldn't find the right colours...!"

"You were close, though. What're you doing rushing around, running into people?" Ninten asked, kneeling down to get to Ness' level.

"To see you!" Ness blurted, "Not, like, in a creepy way, though! It's because you're the coolest!"

Ness clamped his hands over his mouth to avoid shouting any more. Ninten blinked, taking a moment to process the rapid fire sentence. When he realized what was going on and just who this kid was, he smiled again.

"What a nice kid." Ninten said, "I'm gonna take a guess and say you go to the school that's been rebuilt?"

"Uh-huh, I'm in the third grade." Ness clarified, "We learned about you in our history class."

"' _History'_? I'm only sixteen!" Ninten snickered.

"Yeah, but you're important. My teacher says the new set of textbooks will have an entire section on you."

"Did she, now? I should hope you're keeping up with those grades." Ninten raised a brow.

"I got an A plus in our quiz." Ness proudly stated, "...I'm not so good at the other subjects."

"Well, neither was I when I was your age. I still have trouble." Ninten shrugged, "Well, it was a pleasure running into you, mister…?" He trailed off.

"N-Ness." Answered Ness, shifting his weight from his heels to his toes nervously.

"Ness. Gotcha." Ninten nodded his head, before raising a fist, "Pound it."

Realizing the opportunity he'd been given, Ness balled his own hand into a fist and eagerly bumped it against Ninten's. In that moment, a surge of energy flew up Ness' arm like wind in a storm, and a small plume of flames spiraled from their hands. Ness gasped and drew his hand back, while Ninten's eyes widened and his hand wavered. Ness watched the remaining cinders flutter into the air, before they disappeared from view. He smiled in excitement.

"Gee, that was cool!" Ness exclaimed, "You scared me for a second!"

"I…" Ninten hesitated, face filled with wonder, "...Kid, that wasn't me."

"Huh?" Ness' smile fell.

"I didn't do that. That PSI came from _you!_ " Ninten said with a grin of anticipation, "Do you study it?"

Mind spinning, Ness stammered, "...N-No! I mean, I _try_ , but nothing ever happens. What do you mean it came from _me?_ "

"Psychics don't usually access their powers until puberty. Y'know, around eleven years old or so." Ninten explained, "But when our hands touched, your aura borrowed some of my power, and made fire happen."

"Oh no, I'm sorry!"

"No, nonono, kid, that's great! The earlier your aura develops, the stronger your PSI is gonna be when you access it. May I…?" Ninten raised a hand near the side of Ness' head. When met with a look of confusion, he was quick to explain, "I'm just gonna track your aura for a second to see how long you've had it."

"...Oh, okay, um...sure." Ness tilted his head a bit and allowed Ninten to press two fingers to his temple. The older psychic focused on the ground. Ness couldn't even begin to explain what was going on inside Ninten's head. When he saw Ninten's eyes widen again, his heart skipped a beat. What was wrong with him, he thought? "...What is it…?"

"...This aura...it's been around for nearly two years. How old are you?" Ninten asked.

"Seven."

"You've had your aura since you were _five!_ " Ninten exclaimed excitedly, "That's incredible! Like I said, they usually start to develop when you're a preteen. There's only one other person I know whose PSI developed that young. Wanna take a guess who that was?"

Ness blinked, "...You?"

"Me." Ninten nodded, "I was five too. Ness, was it? When your PSI comes, it's gonna be _insanely_ powerful. I'm talkin' _PK Love_ levels of power."

"Really? You mean I might _actually_ be able to use that one day?" Ness breathed.

"Well...maybe not that one. From what I understand, no one can currently use it. Not even I can." Ninten admitted, "But lord knows you've got a chance at the big ones. Give it enough time, and you could be using PK Starstorm without breaking a sweat."

"Actually?!" Ness clasped his hands together.

"Actually. Kid, seriously, you _gotta_ get a teacher."

"There's no Psionic teachers in Onett. I checked already." Ness muttered.

"None?" Ninten asked, somewhat disappointed, "...Shoot. You've got potential for some serious skill."

"Ninten," A voice from behind him suddenly spoke; one of the sharply dressed adults accompanying him, "We just got tipped off by the planning committee. Time to get goin; the mayor wants to speak with you."

"Ah, right, okay," Ninten quickly gathered his wits, before sighing and facing Ness again, "Keep practicing, okay, Ness?"

"U-Uh-huh. I will!" Ness nodded in determination.

"That's what I wanna hear." Ninten replied with a smirk, as he stood up.

And just like that, he was gone. Ness watched him go, hands grabbing at his shirt, amazed at the encounter he'd just hand. As Ninten made his way further down the street, surrounded by his protective guards, several crowds began to form. Ness figured he'd been lucky to catch him at such a time. Trembling from anticipation, Ness glanced down at his hands. He could still feel the tingling radiating from his fingers from when he'd taken some of Ninten's power. He stared intently at the divots in his palms, waiting for something else to happen.

"PK Fire." He spoke.

Nothing. Typical.

His frustration didn't last for long, however. The child wasted no time rushing home and telling his mother everything that had happened. He even told Tracy, even though she was only two and probably didn't understand what he was saying. Ness' mother was thrilled that her son had spoken face to face with his idol, but what even more interested in Ness' claims of being an extra-super-powerful psychic. She wondered if perhaps, this was only Ninten trying to encourage Ness to work harder. But she knew Ness was going to end up with Psionic powers when the doctors at the hospital told her, and she remembered them explaining the general progression of said powers. They were supposed to come in during puberty. Either Ness was growing up a little too early, or Ninten's words were true, and she had a child prodigy on PSI in her house.

When Ness sat on his bed, scribbling down his latest idea for a bazooka that could shoot lasers at people he didn't like, he didn't pay attention to the sound knocking on the door downstairs at first. He paid no mind as he heard his mother rush to answer it, but then paused when he heard her voice raise a bit, as if she were surprised. He set his paper to the side, concerned. It wasn't uncommon for the Minches next door to stop by and unleash a barrage of passive aggressive comments, that would usually leave his mother in tears. But then, he heard his name being called; he was being beckoned downstairs. Ness wasted no time slipping off of his bed and rushing to the stairwell. Halfway down, hand clinging to the banister, he caught sight of the front door, and nearly gasped.

It was Ninten, he realized. Standing at his own front door, hands politely held at his front. Once the two locked eyes, Ness froze, and Ninten flashed that same smile from before, giving a small wave. Ness only stared back, before glancing at his mother, who motioned for him to come over.

"Ness, love," His mother said, "Ninten wants to speak with you. Come on over here."

"He wants to talk to me-?!" Ness raced down the rest of the stairs and bolted to the front door, clinging to his mother and peering back at Ninten from behind her. He saw a few of Ninten's suited cohorts standing back at the driveway. Ninten bowed his head.

"Yeah, I do. If that's okay, of course. I get it, I'm a big kid, and all, but…" Ninten trailed off.

"No, that's okay, I can talk! I'm a big kid, too," Ness assured, moving from his hiding place, "Why'd you come here?"

"I was on kind of a tight schedule back there, but now, I've got all the time in the world." Ninten began, "It's about your PSI."

"...Oh."

"Don't be scared, don't worry," Ninten eased, "So, you said that there aren't any instructors in Psionics in Onett?"

"I can't find any, not a single one." Ness confirmed.

"Well…" Ninten glanced to the side, retrieving something from his pocket. Ness saw that it was an envelope of some sort. "...Like I said before, you have some serious potential. The chance of an aura developing that early is practically impossible. Not to mention, you made fire back there when you absorbed some of my energy, so your aura's already working. And if I haven't made it already clear, that's mighty impressive."

"Yeah?" Was all Ness could manage to say. He felt his mother's hand settle on his shoulder.

"Yeah. But there aren't any instructors around here, so…" Ninten offered the envelope to him, "I wanted to give you something."

Ness took the envelope into his hands and looked down at it. He noticed it had no name or address, but the top corner beared a logo he didn't recognize. It looked incredibly posh. Ness furrowed his brow, slightly confused. He looked back up at Ninten, who had a content expression.

"What is it?" Ness asked.

"A scholarship." Ninten simply replied.

That only made Ness more confused, but he felt his mother's hand tense, and she let out a quiet gasp. He looked up at her, and saw that she had a look of surprise. He handed her the envelope, and she observed it in perked curiosity. His mother carefully ripped the note open and unfolded the printed document inside. Her eyes scanned the page, before her eyebrows raised in interest. She glanced at Ninten with a mix of shock and fascination.

" _My_ Ness?" She breathed.

"Indeed. I'd love to see him there." Ninten replied.

"I don't get it!" Ness piped.

"Ness, you have the potential to be a good psychic. But with the proper training, you can become a great one. A fantastic one." Ninten said, "There's a school over in my hometown that focuses specifically on Psionics. Just recently, I joined the administration team as one of the professors. Our goal is to train gifted children."

"So...like...a PSI school?" Ness guessed.

"Exactly. I'm offering you a spot as one of our students." Ninten said, "But you'd be in a special program. A program specifically designed for kids who started PSI development early. Seeing as that's pretty rare, you'd be the only kid in the class."

" _Seriously?_ No other kids?" Ness asked, amazed.

"Nope, just you. And as for your teacher," Ninten shrugged, "That'd be me."

Ness' jaw dropped, as he was at a complete loss for words. He looked back at his mom, then back to Ninten, then back to his mom, and so on and so forth.

"No way!" Ness breathed, "So, like, you'd be my private PSI teacher? Just you and me?"

"You could put it that way, yeah. You need to wait a few years; I'm afraid you have to be at least twelve years old to enroll. But here's the invitation now." Ninten clarified.

"Heavens!" Ness' mother whispered, "Oh, goodness. N-Ninten, dear, this is so very kind of you, but...this tuition! That's a lot of money that we don't have…"

"Don't even sweat it. Like I said, it's a scholarship. Everything will be done and paid for." Ninten assured, "All we need is a yes."

With that, all pressure was placed on Ness. The boy looked up at his mother, who clutched the letter close to her chest, clearly on board. She stroked a hand down the back of his head, waiting for him to give his own answer. He then turned to Ninten. The same young man he'd admired for years, going out of his way to imitate. Ness' eyes trailed to the striped shirt Ninten wore. He'd tried to find that shirt for days on end. Even wearing the blue and yellow stripes made him feel powerful. But the thought of reaching Ninten's level of power, training almost every day with him, making him proud, was almost too good to be true. Ness could already see it; the day he'd be placed upon the influential psychics list, and the day he would credit his faithful teacher as the reason for his success. Ness smiled wider than he ever had before.

"Yes!" He decided, "I'll go!"

"That's _just_ what I wanted you to say." Ninten replied, pleased by the boy's response, "There's a bit of paperwork that needs to be done, but that's for another day. How you feelin', Ness?"

"Great! Super great!" Ness cried.

"I'm looking forward to having you as my student." Ninten said, "You're gonna do great things, Ness. I promise. My job is gonna be to make sure of that."

"I trust you!"

"Then that's all I need." Ninten smiled, "I'll see you again when you're older, 'kay? Make sure to bring the hat."

"This one?" Ness patted the hat on his head, "Yeah, it'll fit me better. This one's way too big, and I got the wrong colours."

"Hm…" Ninten eyed the cap, clicking his teeth, "Y'know, Ness. This old thing right here," He removed his own hat, which bore the wear and tear of several years of use, "It's getting mighty small. I've had this for six years now."

"Yeah?" Ness murmured, observing the worn out hat with marvel.

"Yep. Come to think of it, maybe it's about time I start looking for a new one." Ninten said, before his face lit up, "Say, I've got an idea! How about you and I make a trade?"

Ninten suddenly reached over and lifted the much larger hat off of Ness' head and placed it over his own, where it fit much better. He then placed the old red one on Ness. Still a bit big, but a better fit than before.

"There." Ninten said, "You take that one, and I'll take this brand new one. How 'bout it? Besides, that one looks good. It fits you better than it fits me."

"Really?" Ness clamped his hands over the hat that had been given to him. The fabric felt rough and withered, but it was still the most precious thing Ness had ever worn, "Are you sure? This is _your_ hat! You defeated Giegue in this hat!"

"Yeah, but that thing hurts my gosh darned head. Besides, I'll see it again in a few years, won't I?" Ninten said, "You want it?"

"...Y-Yes, please! I'll take good care of it!" Ness cried in joy, unable to pry his hands away from the cap.

"Good stuff, kid." Ninten said, tracing a finger over the bill of his new cap, "You excited?"

"Mmhmm!"

"Me too. I oughta get going now, but," Ninten held out his hand, "We'll stay in touch. Nice to meet you, Ness. I look forward to the future."

"I do too!" Ness happily exclaimed, shaking Ninten's hand.

Ness' life had never quite been the same after that. Every day after school, he would head to his room and meditate, trying to strengthen his aura. He practiced his stances in front of any mirrors he could find. He even joined a few sports to try and build muscle. As the days passed, that blue and yellow shirt began to fit him, and that red hat never left his head. He studied endlessly, trying to rake up the best grades he could manage. He couldn't show up to such a posh school with a C minus.

Nothing could douse Ness' spirits. Only a few more years to go, and then his PSI would finally start to come. He would have the best mentor imaginable, and he would climb the ranks into Psionic history alongside him. There wasn't a day that went by where Ness didn't think about it. Determined beyond comprehension, Ness was prepared to be the best possible student he could be. And nothing was going to stop him.

Oh, but misfortune was such a cruel being. It was the news story that rocked the entire world. Three years later, and Ness was ten years old. He'd been sitting in his living room one morning, watching Tracy, when he overheard the news anchor say something that would take every dream that Ness had built up, and crush them like a handful of dead leaves. Ness stared at the TV screen, face unmoving, heartbeat racing, as he heard those dreadful words that changed everything.

The famous psychic, nineteen year old Ninten, who held the title as the #1 most influential Psionic figure in history, had officially been reported as missing. The young adult disappeared during the late hours of a Tuesday night, and has not been seen since. Surely, he would show up again. He was the one who stopped Giegue, wasn't he? Ninten would show up again.

Ness knew he would.

* * *

When Ness awoke with a gasp that nearly made him choke, he raised his hands to his face and rubbed his eyes. He felt rather tired; more than usual. He grit his teeth in frustration; once again, he'd had a dream, and couldn't remember a single second of it. This dream felt different, however. Ness felt like he wanted to cry. It was an unfamiliar sense. He tensed up, trying to force tears out of his eyes, but he'd run out of tears ages ago. Ness sighed. What a wonderful dream, he thought, even though he wasn't sure what had happened in it. He turned over onto his side. A few moments of quiet went by, before he realized something key.

' _I'm not plugged in._ ' He felt around the base of his neck. Sure enough, the USB slot was empty.

Frantically, Ness turned to the wall clock. He read 3:34. He'd been asleep for three and a half hours without the help of the device. Ness' heart nearly stopped. He fought back the urge to throw up. It's not like there was anything inside of him _to_ throw up, anyways. He laid back down on his back, one hand gripping at his hair. Taking heavy breaths, he squeezed his eyes shut. There was only one sound repeating in his mind. He couldn't tell what it was at first, but then, he realized it was a name. Ness couldn't stop thinking about the name as he struggled to compose himself. Before he finally decided to plug himself in and get another thirty minutes of sleep, Ness mouthed the name silently, the word invoking a strange feeling he couldn't put a finger on. Like the feeling he got when he saw Paula or Jeff's face.

' _...Ninten...'_


End file.
